The  First  Epistle  of  John 

OR  ^^^^ 

God  Revealed  ««  Life,  Lighi^-^'^ove 


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THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  JOHN 


^be  Jflret  lEpletle  of  3obn 


OR 


GOD  REVEALED  IN  LIFE,  LIGHT,  AND  LOVE 


-By 
ROBERT  CAMERON 

Author  of  '■'■The  Doctrine  of  the  A^es,'^  and  Editor  of 
"  Watchword  and  Truth  " 


These  things  have  I  written  unto  you^  that  ye  may  know  that 
ye  have  eternal  life. —  The  Apostle  John. 


PHILADELPHIA 

A.  J.  Rowland — 1420  Chestnut  Street 
1899 


Copyright  1899  by 
Robert  Cameron 


jprom  tbe  press  of  tbe 
Bmerican  ffiaptist  Ipublication  Societie 


PREFACE 


This  series  of  studies  upon  the  First  Epistle  of  John 
is  the  outgrowth  of  two  convictions  :  First,  that  this 
Epistle  has  much  valuable  truth  for  the  upbuilding  of 
the  Christian  life  ;  secondly,  that  no  condensed  and 
connected  development  of  the  truth  contained  in  the 
book  has  been  published  for  many  years.  Students  of 
the  Bible  have  often  spoken  of  their  difficulty  in 
understanding  this  Epistle.  The  writer  confesses  that 
he  had  a  similar  experience  himself.  When  he  first 
began  to  study  the  book  he  could  say  with  an  ancient 
author  :  '*  I  am  far  from  understanding  all ;  I  read,  but 
it  seems  to  me  as  if  what  John  meant  were  floating  be- 
fore me  in  the  distance,  and  even  when  I  look  into  a 
passage  altogether  dark,  I  have  a  foretaste  of  some 
great,  glorious  meaning  which  I  shall  some  day  under- 
stand." The  simplicity  of  the  language  in  which  the 
majesty  and  the  depth  of  thought  of  this  Epistle  are 
expressed  has  hindered  that  careful  study  of  this  book 
needed  to  trace  its  connecting  links.  The  profound 
mysteries  of  the  relation  between  God  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  world,  the  soul  of  man,  the  evil  one,  deceiving 
spirits,  and  the  coming  Antichrist,  on  the  other,  are 
stated  in  language  adapted  to  the  understanding  of  a 
little  child.      But   they  challenge  the  most   profound 


VI  PEEFACE 

consideration  of  those  who  are  deeply  taught  of  God, 
for  they  all  have  their  roots  in  the  unseen,  the  ever- 
lasting, and  the  absolute  Source  of  Life. 

This  apparent  hiding  of  the  meaning  is  not  a  matter 
of  wonder.  Life  in  its  essence  has  never  been  discov- 
ered. Its  phenomena  are  all  we  know.  This  book 
treats  of  life — life  in  God,  revealed  through  Christ, 
and  imparted  to  us.  Its  structure  is  in  harmony  with 
its  theme,  as  is  always  the  case  in  the  word  of  God. 
All  the  words  used  in  Scripture,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  show  a  sympathetic  capacity  to  deal 
with  the  truth  under  consideration  never  found  in 
other  writings.  This  is  strikingly  seen  in  the  Gospel 
and  Epistles  of  John  as  well  as  in  the  Apocalypse. 
The  writer  has  sought  to  trace  the  course  of  these  vital 
undercurrents  of  life  pressing  their  way  through  the 
whole  book. 

The  text  used,  in  the  main,  is  that  of  the  Revised 
version.  Hence  there  is  no  discussion  of  some  of  the 
mistranslations  or  unfortunate  insertions  that  appear  in 
our  King  James  version  of  this  Epistle.  The  writer 
has  sought,  however,  to  get  at  the  fundamental  mean- 
ing of  the  book  through  the  Greek  text,  without  ex- 
plaining the  process,  and  without  troubling  the  reader 
with  too  frequent  reference  to  the  original.  The  truth 
thus  ascertained,  he  has  sought  to  make  known  in  the 
exposition.  He  has  made  it  a  constant  aim  to  force 
nothing  into  the  text,  although  he  is  conscious  of  hav- 
ing evolved  from  the  text  but  a  small  portion  of  its 
wealth  and  worth.     On  the  whole,  he  ventures  to  ex- 


PREFACE  Vll 

press  the  hope  that  the  reader  who  follows  him,  will  be 
led  into  the  secrets  of  the  great  life  which  throbs  in 
every  portion  of  this  book,  the  richest  of  all  the  writ- 
ings of  the  beloved  disciple.  In  this  confidence  these 
studies  are  now  laid  at  the  Master's  feet  with  the  ear- 
nest prayer  that  they  may  be  used  to  unfold  his  glories 
and  to  feed  the  souls  of  the  saints. 

Grateful  acknowledgment  is  made  for  valuable  help 
derived  from  the  writings  of  Canon  Westcott,  Doctor 
Candlish,  Doctor  Culross,  J.  N.  Darby,  W.  Lincoln, 
and,  in  a  less  degree,  from  F.  D.  Maurice.  Special 
mention  should  be  made  of  Doctors  Stifler  and  More- 
head,  from  whom  the  author  has  derived  valuable  sug- 
gestions. 

K.  C. 

Providence,  R.  I.,  April,  1899. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

Introduction xi 

I.  The  Unseen  Kevealed 1 

II.  Fellowship  IN  Light  AND  Cleansing  BY  Blood   12 

III.  Confession  and  Forgiveness 29 

IV.  The  Advocate  at  Court 38 

V.  Saying  and  Doing,  or  Profession  and  Con- 
duct   56 

VI.  The  Fading  World  and  the  Abiding  Church   72 

VII.  The  Antichrist  and  the  Christian  ....    89 

VIII.  What  We  Are  and  What  We  Shall  Be  .  107 

IX.  Sin  and  Righteousness 122 

X.  Love  and  Hatred 138 

XI.  Obedience  and  Confidence 148 

XII.  True  and  False  Spirits 159 

XIII.  The  Way  of  Perfect  Love  .    .    .    ...    .    .180 

XIV.  As  He  Is,  So  are  We 193 

XV.  Begotten    of    God    and    Overcoming    the 

World 206 

XVI.  The  Three  Witnesses 219 

XVII.  Closing  Words 238 

ix 


X  CONTENTS 

APPENDIX  A 
The  Blood  Cleanseth 257 

APPENDIX  B 
The  Advocate 259 

APPENDIX  C 
The  Antichrist 262 


INTRODUCTION 


From  an  internal  examination  of  this  Epistle  we 
find  the  following  facts  :  The  man  who  wrote  it  had 
seen,  heard,  and  handled  Jesus,  the  Christ.  The  word 
"  handled  "  makes  it  plain  that  he  is  writing  of  a  per- 
son and  not  of  a  doctrine.  He  was  advanced  in  years 
and  could  speak  of  the  disciples  as  "little  children." 
He  had  a  spirit  of  tender,  yearning  love  toward  those 
who  had  been  brought  to  the  Lord  through  his  minis- 
try. He  had  conscious  fellowship  with  the  Father  and 
with  the  Son.  He  wished  others  to  share  in  the  same 
blessings  with  himself.  He  knew  and  believed  the  love 
that  God  had  toward  him.  He  knew  that  he  was  of 
God,  that  he  was  in  God,  and  that  God  Avas  abiding  in 
him.  He  was  one  whose  ministry  had  been  received  by 
the  children  of  God,  but  not  by  the  world.  The  per- 
sons to  whom  he  wrote  were  believers  ;  their  sins  were 
forgiven  ;  they  knew  Christ ;  they  knew  the  truth  ;  they 
had  overcome  the  wicked  one  ;  they  had  the  anointing 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  they  were  the  writer's  own  spiritual 
children  ;  and  they  were  the  people  who  were  in  the 
midst  of  false  teachers.  Some  of  them  lacked  assur- 
ance, some  of  them  had  persecutions  to  bear,  and  some 
of  them  were  very  much  perplexed  about  the  false  doc- 
trines.    Among  other  things   they  had   been  taught  : 


Xll  INTRODUCTION 

That  Jesus  was  not  the  Christ,  that  he  had  not  come 
in  the  flesh,  that  a  man  might  habitually  live  in  sin  and 
yet  claim  to  be  born  of  God,  that  man  did  not  need  the 
atoning  blood,  and  that  men  might  live  together  in 
hatred  and  yet  claim  to  be  in  fellowship  with  God. 
These  things  all  point  to  John  as  the  author  of  this  book. 
It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find  that  John's 
authorship  has  never  been  seriously  disputed.  Ire- 
nseus,  who  knew  Polycarp,  a  contemporary  of  John, 
says  that  John  was  its  author.  This  conclusion  would 
easily  be  gathered  from  its  relation  to  the  Gospel  bear- 
ing that  apostle's  name.  The  one  is  a  synopsis  of  the 
life  and  discourses  of  our  Lord,  while  the  other  is  an 
exposition  of  their  significance.  In  John's  Gospel,  we 
have  in  the  first  fourteen  verses,  life  with  the  Father,  and 
in  the  rest,  life  manifested.  The  Epistle  fits  into  the 
Gospel  thus  framed,  showing  the  additional  truth  of  life 
imparted  to  us.  In  the  closing  verses  of  chap.  20  of 
the  Gospel,  John  says,  ' '  I  have  written  that  ye  might 
believe,  and  that  believing  ye  might  have  life, ' '  while 
in  the  last  chapter  of  the  Epistle  he  says,  * '  I  have  writ- 
ten that  ye  may  know  that  ye  have  eternal  life,  even 
unto  you  that  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God." 
And  in  both  the  Gospel  and  the  Epistle,  the  possession 
of  life  and  the  knowledge  of  the  life  possessed  are  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  us  fullness  of  joy.  There  is  such 
a  striking  likeness  in  the  style  and  vocabulary  of  the 
Gospel  and  the  Epistle  that  one  would  readily  ascribe 
the  authorship  of  both  books  to  the  same  person.  The 
words  life,  light,  love,  joy,  truth,  word,  world,  witness, 


INTRODUCTION  Xlll 

born,  abide,  advocate,  and  so  forth,  are  constantly  re- 
curring words  in  both  the  Gospel  and  the  Epistle. 

There  is  in  this  Epistle  the  same  absence  of  system- 
atic arrangement  of  surface  facts  and  truths  seen  in  the 
Gospel  bearing  John's  name.  But  it  is  not  "  the  ram- 
bling prattle  of  an  old  man  ' '  pouring  out  pious  phrases. 
It  is  rather  the  words  of  one  so  long  with  God  on  the 
mount  of  communion  that  his  words  dazzle  us  with  their 
brightness.  He  plunges  at  once  into  his  great  theme  of 
the  revelation  made  to  man  in  the  Son  of  God.  He 
reflects  the  spirit  of  him  in  whose  bosom  he  lay  at  the 
last  supper.  Ewald,  speaking  of  his  "unruffled  and 
heavenly  repose,"  says:  "It  appears  to  be  the  tone, 
not  so  much  of  a  father  talking  with  his  beloved  chil- 
dren, as  of  a  glorified  saint  addressing  mankind  from  a 
higher  world.  Never  has  the  doctrine  of  heavenly 
love,  working  in  stillness,  ever  unwearied,  never  ex- 
hausted, so  thoroughly  approved  itself  as  in  this  Epis- 
tle." This  path  of  life  flowing  out  in  unsullied  light 
and  heavenly  love  is  not  readily  detected.  It  is  upon 
the  inner  essence  and  not  upon  the  outer  aspect  of  the 
Christian  life  that  John  chiefly  dwells  ;  but  in  the 
Epistle  he  follows  a  well-defined  path,  all  the  way  from 
the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ  at  the  beginning  to  the 
exhortation  to  guard  ourselves  from  idols  at  the  end. 

It  is  also  quite  certain  that  the  Epistle  was  written 
in  Ephesus.  Irenseus  declares  this  without  qualifica- 
tion, and  the  early  traditions  of  the  church  are  unani- 
mous to  this  effect.  Polycrates,  in  speaking  of  the 
ashes   of  the   saints   sleeping   at   Ephesus,    mentions. 


XIV  INTRODUCTION 

among  others,  those  of  John  the  apostle  ;  showing  that 
in  his  day  this  was  the  unanimous  feeling  and  belief  of 
the  church.  The  book  of  Eevelation  speaks  of  Pat- 
mos  near  Ephesus.  It  is  quite  certain  that  John  wrote 
the  last  book  of  the  New  Testament  on  that  island.  It 
is  not  without  significance  that  the  name  now  given  to 
the  spot  where  Ephesus  once  flourished  is  Diasolouk, 
which  means  the  holy  theologian.  While  there  is  not 
a  very  great  deal  of  reliance  to  be  placed  upon  this 
name,  still  it  indicates  that  some  holy  man  gave  to  the 
city  his  name,  which  has  been  preserved  until  the  pres- 
ent time  among  the  natives. 

But  the  book  itself  fits  into  the  condition  of  things 
at  Ephesus.  The  warning  against  idolatry  with  which 
the  writer  closes  the  Epistle  corresponds  to  the  state  of 
things  which  existed  in  Ephesus,  as  recorded  in  the 
nineteenth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  show- 
ing us  how  much  this  city  was  given  to  idolatry.  The 
warnings  against  unseen  and  wicked  spirits  ^  had  a  spe- 
cial significance  to  the  people  of  that  city.^  The  broad 
scope  of  the  book  answers  to  the  cosmopolitan  character 
of  the  city  of  Ephesus.  Then  too,  the  language  used 
in  the  Epistle  presupposes  teachers  having  labored  in 
Ephesus,  and  this  corresponds  to  the  facts  in  the  case. 
Thus  both  internal  examination  and  also  the  early  his- 
tory and  traditions  of  the  church  point  to  "that  dis- 
ciple whom  Jesus  loved  "  as  the  author  of  this  wonder- 
ful treatise  on  life  as  revealed  in  our  Lord  and  imparted 
to  the  family  of  faith. 

14:1.  2  Eph.  6  :  12  ;  Acts  19  :  13-16. 


THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  JOHN 


CHAPTER  I 

THE   UNSEEN    REVEALED 

It  is  often  observed  that  John  has  ^  ^  _  ^  ^  , 
left  us  three  great  pictures,  ihe  nrst 
is  that  of  our  Lord,  as  he  lay  in  the  bosom  of  a  Father's 
love  from  the  eternity  of  the  past.  This  we  find  in  the 
Gospel  bearing  his  name.  The  second  picture  is  that 
of  his  own  heart  in  its  secret  relation  to  Christ,  and 
this  is  identical  with  the  experience  of  every  regenerate 
soul  in  fellowship  with  the  Lord.  The  three  Epistles 
give  us  this.  The  third  picture  is  that  of  God's  judg- 
ments sweeping  away  the  disease  and  death  of  the  pres- 
ent earth,  and  introducing  the  new  heavens  and  the  new 
earth.  The  Apocalypse  gives  us  this.  It  is  the  second 
of  these  pictures  that  we  are  to  study  in  this  Epistle. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  we  find  the  law  of 
compensation  illustrated  in  the  case  of  the  Ephesian 
church.  The  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  Ephesus  re- 
sulted in  the  burning  of  a  large  number  of  books. ^ 
These  books  were  pernicious  and  evil,  and  it  was  well 
that  they  were  destroyed.     But  the  gospel,  which  was 

1  Acts  19  :  19. 


^Z  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

the  cause  of  their  destruction,  brought  in  a  large 
amount  of  Christian  literature.  There  were  eight  of 
these  volumes  in  all  :  John's  Gospel,  Apocalypse,  and 
three  Epistles  ;  a  letter  of  Paul  to  the  Ephesians,  and 
two  letters  to  his  *'son,"  Timothy.  This  is  another 
illustration  of  that  wonderful  law  of  the  kingdom  by 
which  ''  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  Christ's  sake  shall  find 
it."  The  Ephesians  lost  what  w^as  proving  their  ruin, 
while  they  gained  that  which  became  their  salvation. 
They  lost  the  books  of  evil  spirits,  but  gained  those 
from  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  they  lost  the  books  of  decep- 
tion, but  received  the  book  of  truth. 

We  may  assume  that  this  treatise  was  written  to  the 
Ephesians.  We  shall  find  great  advantages  in  looking 
at  it  as  a  whole.  The  sweetest  scents  come,  not  from 
the  flower  of  the  aromatic  plant,  but  from  its  leaves, 
its  stem,  its  seed,  and  its  bark,  all  macerated  and  com- 
pounded into  one.  These  various  parts  contain  odor- 
iferous substances  in  minute  sacks,  and  combine  to  give 
the  rarest  perfume  that  can  be  obtained.  So  the  purest 
and  most  fragrant  doctrines  come  from  the  whole  sub- 
stance of  a  book  in  the  Scriptures,  and  not  from  a 
minute  flower  or  single  text.  It  is  only  when  we  can 
thus  mass  together  the  whole  book,  each  part  of  it  as 
it  is  related  to  the  rest,  that  we  shall  have  the  name  of 
Christ  presented  to  us  as  **  ointment  poured  forth." 

We  call  this  an  epistle.  Perhaps  it  is.  But  it  does 
not  open  like  a  letter,  it  does  not  close  like  a  letter,  and 
it  has  no  personal  allusions  or  greetings  like  a  letter. 
**  These  things  write  we  unto  you,  that  our  joy  maybe 


THE    UNSEEN    REVEALED  6 

full,"  partakes  somewhat  of  the  nature  of  a  letter's 
greetings.  Yet  it  is  rather  a  brief  treatise  unfolding 
the  soul  of  John  in  its  experience  under  the  power  of 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

This  treatise  would  have  a  peculiar  meaning  to  the 
Ephesian  church.  It  ought  to  have  such  a  meaning  to 
us.  It  came  from  the  last  living  representative  of  that 
select  company  who  heard,  saw,  gazed  upon,  and  han- 
dled our  Lord,  after  his  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
He  was  therefore  the  last  one  of  the  twelve  apostles  to 
correct  any  wrong  statements  and  wrong  reports  con- 
cerning the  person  and  work  of  our  adorable  Re- 
deemer. 

John  speaks  of  "  That  ivhich  ivas  from  the  begin- 
ning/' It  was  not  that  Avhich  came  into  existence,  but 
which  already  existed — which  was.  He  writes  in  an 
impersonal  way.  This  was  evidently  because  he  wanted 
to  set  self  aside,  and  to  get  back  to  the  living  God  and 
to  the  life  which  was  in  him.  He  joins  eternity  to  life, 
and  joins  life  to  God  when  speaking  about  eternity,  and 
this  life  was  with  the  Father.  This,  it  will  be  ob- 
served, is  the  same  spirit  found  in  the  first  eighteen 
verses  of  the  Gospel  by  John.  Here,  w^e  have  the 
eternity  of  Christ  and  his  unity  with  the  Father  as 
definitely  taught  as  in  the  Gospel.  This  life  was  mani- 
fested— heard,  seen,  gazed  upon,  handled.  AVhile  the 
Greeks  w^ere  "feeling  after  God"  in  the  dark,  John 
*'  handled  "  his  manifestation  in  the  light,  alluding  to 
scenes  before  and  after  the  resurrection.  This  was 
John's  emphatic  way  of  treating  the   reality   of  the 


4  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

manifestation  of  Christ  as  opposed  to  some  false  teach- 
ers of  that  day,  who  maintained  that  the  incarnation 
was  a  mere  shadow  and  not  a  reality.  This  is  as  timely 
now  as  then.  Does  not  "  Christian  Science  "  deny  the 
real  incarnation  to-day  ?  In  this  day  of  doubt  and 
demand  for  scientific  demonstration,  do  we  not  need 
to  be  reminded  afresh  that  twelve  common  men,  of 
honest  heart  and  level  head,  at  the  peril  of  their  lives, 
bore  witness  that  they  saw  with  their  eyes,  heard  with 
their  ears,  contemplated  with  their  understanding,  and 
handled  with  their  hands,  this  Life,  organized  into 
human  flesh  and  bones  and  blood  ? 

Life  in  its  essence  can  never  be  seen,  known,  or  un- 
derstood. After  it  has  become  organized  in  some  living 
form  its  phenomena  can  be  observed.  The  germ  of  life 
lies  hidden  in  the  seed,  but  its  habits  and  its  fruit  are 
unfolded  in  the  plant.  John  is  writing  of  the  Life, 
organized  in  him  who  was  conceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  He  speaks  of  the  Life 
and  not  a  life.  It  is  definitely  marked  off  as  that  Life 
which  is  Eternal,  which  was  with  the  Father,  and 
which  has  been  manifested.  In  the  Lord  Jesus  it  be- 
comes '^the  Word  of  lAfe,^^  A  word  is  that  which 
expresses  the  unseen  thought,  emotion,  or  volition  of  a 
person.  There  is  power  in  the  divine  nature  by  which 
God  is  able  to  reveal  himself  outwardly  in  the  forms  of 
things.  This  he  has  done  faintly  in  the  material  uni- 
verse, but  fully  in  "the  Word  made  flesh,"  whose 
glory  we  may  behold.  Jesus  is  "  the  Word  of  Life," 
the  full  expression  of  the  thought,   licart,  and  will  of 


THE    UNSEEN    REVEALED  5 

God.  He  is  the  expression  of  the  Life  in  which  the 
Father  is  revealed,  the  Life  in  which  he  delights,  and 
the  Life  in  which  he  could  pledge  the  fulfillment  of  all 
his  purposes  of  grace.  This  life  remained  unseen  dur- 
ing all  the  ages  of  the  past,  until  "the  Word"  be- 
caine  the  expression  of  it,  the  means  of  unfolding  it, 
and  the  channel  for  imparting  it  to  man.  As  a  man 
utters  a  check,  expressing  value  and  not  creating  it,  so 
Jesus  is  the  utterance  of  the  name  or  value  or  char- 
acter of  God.  He  is  the  Logos,  or  continued  dis- 
course, unfolding  God  in  a  connected  way  and  in  logi- 
cal order. 

The  use  of  the  term  ' '  Word ' '  does  not  necessarily 
imply  the  spoken  word.  Jesus  Christ  was  the  un- 
spoken Word  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was. 
He  became  flesh,  and  then  he  was  the  uttered  Word  of 
God.  '*  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time,  the  only 
begotten  Son  which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he 
hath  declared  him  ' ' — hath  uttered  him,  told  him  out, 
given  him  an  exegesis.  The  literal  rendering  would  be, 
*'  He  hath  led  him  out." 

Christ  perfectly  represents  that  life  which  existed  in 
God  from  all  eternity.  Therefore  we  are  not  depend- 
ent upon  a  book  or  upon  a  tradition  for  our  revelation. 
The  book  reveals  the  person  and  work  of  our  Lord, 
but  our  dependence  is  upon  the  Life  manifested  in 
that  person,  and  the  work  accomplished  by  him.  All 
the  Gospels  unfold  this  Life.  •  The  Gospel  of  John  is 
concerning  the  "Word  made  flesh,"  while  the  Epistle 
of  John    is  concerning  the  "Word  of  Life."      The 


6  THE    FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

Gospel  tells  us  how  this  unuttered  Word  of  God  be- 
came flesh,  and  the  Epistle  tells  us  how,  when  this 
Word  became  flesh,  it  was  the  Word  revealing  the  un- 
seen Life  that  existed  from  eternity.  The  "Word," 
here,  has  the  same  meaning  as  it  has  in  the  beginning 
of  the  Gospel.  In  the  Gospel  of  John  "  the  Word  was 
with  God,"  but  here,  he  is  "with  the  Father."  In 
the  former,  God's  relation  to  the  world  was  in  view, 
but  here,  his  relation  to  the  family  of  faith  is  presented, 
and  hence  he  is  with  the  Father.  In  both  cases  the 
expressions  indicate  a  distinct  personality.  He  is  face 
to  face  with  God — at  home  with  the  Father.  In  the 
Gospel,  God  is  unfolded  to  the  world  ;  but  in  the  Epis- 
tles, the  Father  is  made  known  to  his  children.  AVe 
are,  therefore,  treated  as  children  throughout  the  whole 
Epistle.  The  Son  of  God  from  all  eternity  was  the 
living  expression  of  the  nature  and  will  of  God,  and  in 
him  was  hidden  all  that  God  had  to  say  to  man.  Christ 
is  the  Word  revealing  the  overflowing  nature  of  God, 
and  he  is  the  Life  meeting  the  need  of  man.  To  receive 
him,  therefore,  is  to  have  at  once  a  complete  revela- 
tion of  the  unseen  God  and  a  full  possession  of  the 
divine  life.  To  reject  him  is  to  be  without  a  knowl- 
edge of  God  and  to  be  destitute  of  eternal  life — the  life 
of  the  ages.  This  life  is  divine,  and  is  therefore  com- 
mon to  all  the  ages.  It  is  the  only  life  which  runs 
through  all  the  ages  of  the  past,  and  which  will  perme- 
ate all  the  ages  which  may  yet  be  unfolded. 

John  uses  the  word  **we"  with  the  same  quiet  mod- 
esty that  leads  him  to  speak  of  * '  that  disciple  whom 


THE    UNSEEN    REVEALED  7 

Jesus  loved,"  without  even  indicating  that  he  meant 
himself.  Having  told  us  what  he  saw  and  heard  and 
handled,  he  proceeds  to  make  known  the  purpose  for 
Avhich  he  is  writing.  First,  it  is  that  believers  may 
have  fellowship  with  those  who  heard  and  saw  the 
Lord.  In  other  words,  he  wants  Christians  to  hear 
what  he  heard  and  to  see  what  he  saw,  that  they  may 
know  what  he  knows.  ''  That  ivhich  we  have  seen  and 
heard  declare  ive  unto  you  also,  that  ye  also  may  have 
fellowship  with  us.'" 

Then  follows  a  statement  of  the  extent  and  wealth  of 
this  fellowship.  It  is  ^  ^  with  the  Father ^  and  with  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ.'"  The  distinctness  and  equality  of 
Father  and  Sou,  and  also  the  identity  of  the  eternal 
Son  with  the  historic  Jesus,  are  made  known.  With 
both  we  have  a  blessed  fellowship.  The  Word  reveal- 
ing God  is  also  the  "Word  of  life"  recreating  man. 
The  same  Jesus  who  reveals  the  life  and  character  of 
God,  imparts  spiritual  life  to  us,  so  that  those  who 
receive  him  are  brought  into  fellowship  with  the  Father 
through  the  Son.  It  is  not  added,  ''and  with  the  Holy 
Ghost, ' '  for  it  is  by  the  Spirit  that  we  are  able  to  enter 
into  this  fellowship.  We  have  now  the  **  communion 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  but  John  is  not  here  considering 
communion  with  him.  Our  communion  is  with  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  and  the  power  which  brings  us 
into  this  great  possession,  in  common  with  the  whole 
family  of  faith,  is  the  Holy  Spirit.  There  may  also 
be  a  sense  in  which  the  Christian  has  fellowship  with  the 
Holy  Spirit,  but  that  is  another  thing. 


8  THE    FIRST   EPISTLE   OF   JOHN 

Life  was  in  the  Father  ;  it  was  revealed  in  Christ, 
and  it  is  imparted  to  us.  It  is  life  from  the  Father,  and 
it  is  pleasing  to  him  whether  seen  in  his  Son  or  seen  in 
us.  In  Christ  God  bridged  the  chasm  separating  be- 
tween himself  and  man,  and  he  imparts  himself  to  us  in 
a  communion  of  divine  life,  and  this  life  is  our  common 
possession. with  the  Father  and  the  Son.  It  is  a  life 
common  to  each  person  in  the  blessed  partnership.  Our 
fellowship  is  not  merely  with  other  members  of  the  re- 
deemed family,  but  also  with  the  Father  and  the  Son. 
All  Christians  belong  to  one  family  and  equally  share 
in  the  sonship  of  Christ. 

Each  believer  possesses  the  Son,  and  through  him 
life  from  the  Father,  and  this  gives  to  the  whole  body 
an  intercommunion.  The  same  life  courses  its  way 
through  every  believing  soul,  making  the  whole  body 
of  Christians  a  human -divine  unit.  Thiis  this  "  Word 
of  Life,"  which  is  Jesus  Christ,  the  One  who  utters  or 
leads  out  the  life,  restores  us  at  once  both  to  God  and 
to  one  another.  It  imparts  to  us  the  life  of  God  which 
we  share  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  and  therefore 
we  are  able  to  understand  God  and  to  worship  him  in 
spirit  and  in  truth.  It  also  brings  us  into  union  with 
men.  They  share  with  us  the  same  knowledge,  the 
same  life,  and  the  same  Saviour,  and  therefore  we  are 
brought  also  to  the  love  of  men.  In  a  word,  we  are 
restored  to  the  worship  of  God  and  to  the  love  of  men. 

The  same  thought,  although  presented  from  a  dif- 
ferent point  of  view,  is  given  by  Paul  in  his  frequent 
mention  of  peace.     The  word  eirene,  translated  peace. 


THE    UNSEEN    REVEALED  9 

is  derived  from  a  verb  which  means  to  unite  or  to  bind 
together.  ' '  For  he  is  our  peace  who  hath  made  both 
one  and  hath  broken  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition 
.  .  .  that  he  might  create  in  himself  of  twain  one  new 
man,  so  making  peace  ;  and  might  reconcile  both  in 
one  body  on  the  cross. ' '  Peace  binds  us  together  as 
one  ;  hence  we  are  to  * '  Keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in 
the  bond  of  peace,"  and  this  too,  in  one  body,  one 
Spirit,  one  hope,  ''one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  bajDtism, 
and  one  God  and  Father  of  all."  Our  God  is  the  God 
of  peace  or  of  binding  together.  Jesus,  in  giving  his 
peace  to  his  disciples,  gave  them  the  very  union  which 
existed  between  himself  and  the  Father,  because  he 
gave  them  his  own  life.  This  was  the  glory  which  he 
had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was.  Hence  the 
prayer  ' '  that  they  may  all  be  one  ;  even  as  thou  Father 
art  in  me  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  in 
us, "  "  and  the  glory  which  thou  hast  given  me  I  have 
given  unto  them;  that  they  may  be  one  as  we  are  one." 
Paul  directs  us  to  the  outward,  and  John  to  the  inward 
ground  of  unity.     Both  are  true. 

There  is,  therefore,  a  profound  truth  in  that  much- 
abused  phrase,  ' '  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the 
brotherhood  of  men."  It  is,  however,  rather  the 
fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  Christians. 
It  is  only  when  we  are  made  partakers  of  the  eternal 
life  revealed  in  Christ  that  we  are  brought  into  fellow- 
ship with  God  as  children  and  to  the  love  of  men  as 
brothers.  All  other  conceptions  of  fatherhood  and 
brotherhood  are  without  foundation  in  fact,  are  con- 


10  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

trary  to  Scripture,  and  are  utterly  deceptive  and  mis- 
leading. There  is  a  fatherhood  and  a  brotherhood  based 
upon  life  and  birth,  which  differs  from  that  which  rests 
upon  the  primary  creation,  as  much  as  the  child  which 
is  folded  to  a  mother's  breast  differs  from  the  painting 
produced  by  her  hand.  The  one  is  made  and  molded 
after  the  conceptions  of  her  mind  ;  the  other  is  the  out- 
come of  her  inmost  being.  The  one  fiitherhood  is 
based  upon  the  creating  hand  of  God — a  blessed  foun- 
dation, indeed,  had  it  never  been  marred  and  mangled 
by  sin.  The  other  has  its  source  in  birth,  giving  us  a 
possession  of  the  life  of  God  which  can  never  be  touched 
by  sin  or  Satan.  Sin  brought  in  death,  alienation, 
and  hatred  ;  but  righteousness  in  Christ  brought  in 
life,  union,  and  love. 

Partnership  with  our  Lord  in  the  possession  of  his 
essential  life  is  the  under-current  running  through  the 
whole  of  this  Epistle.  When  we  turn  our  eyes  to  Jesus 
and  contemplate  all  of  his  purity,  holiness,  devoutness, 
patience,  tenderness,  grace,  love,  obedience,  and  entire 
freedom  from  self-seeking,  we  can  say  :  that  is  the  un- 
hindered outcome  and  rijiened  fruit  of  our  own  inner 
life  derived  from  him.  It  may  be  obscure  in  us  now 
because  of  another  and  opposing  life,  but  it  is  none  tlie 
less  ours  ;  and  the  time  will  surely  come  when  it  will 
be  unfolded  and  manifested  to  us  yonder  with  all  its 
perfection  and  glory,  precisely  as  it  has  already  been 
seen  in  him  here. 

The  second  purpose  of  the  writing  is  that  his  ^'joy  may 
be  full.''     Some  manuscripts  say  "  your  joy."     In  the 


THE    UNSEEN    REVEALED  11 

one  case  the  apostle  would  be  thinking  of  his  own  joy- 
in  making  known  Christ  ;  in  the  other,  the  joy  of  the 
believers  in  receiving  what  he  makes  known.  In  the 
first  verse  he  is  occupied  with  what  he  declares,  but 
here  he  is  thinking  of  ivhy  he  declares  it.  \yhat  he 
makes  known  is  the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ  which 
has  become  real  to  him.  Jesus  is  the  source,  center, 
and  object  of  the  saint's  joy.  Through  him  we  are 
brought  into  union  and  harmony  with  God  and  with  all 
who  are  partakers  of  his  life.  John's  heart  was  filled 
with  joy  while  he  contemplated  these  blessings  coming 
to  the  hearts  of  those  to  whom  he  wrote. 

Thus  have  the  great  thoughts  of  John  struggled  for 
expression  in  speaking  of  the  life  of  God.  This  life  is 
distinct  from  his  personality.  Jesus  was  the  Word  ex- 
pressing that  life,  even  before  all  creation.  He  made 
it  known  to  man  when  he  became  flesh.  This  revela- 
tion on  earth  was  attested  to  the  senses  of  the  apostles, 
and  it  became  to  them  a  blessed  reality.  It  was  the 
instrument  and  power  appointed  by  God  for  reproduc- 
ing the  divine  life  in  the  apostle,  and  it  is  the  same  to- 
day for  all  who  receive  the  One  who  made  it.  This 
fact  is  unfolded  here  in  order  that  persons  reading  the 
Epistle  may  have  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  with 
the  Son  as  well  as  with  the  Avhole  family  of  faith,  and 
also  that  the  writer's  joy  may  be  filled  to  the  full. 


CHAPTER  II 

FELLOWSHIP  IN  LIGHT  AND  CLEANSING  BY  BLOOD 

,  ^  ,     ^  In  the  foregoing  chapter  we  saw  the 

1  John  1  :  5-7  ,        .  a      ^   .\^     .      ^  1         ^ 

relation  oi  this  Epistle  to  the  Gospel 
of  John,  and  also  the  skill  with  which  our  author  de- 
velops that  which  had  already  been  stated  in  the  Gospel. 
We  saw  also  the  manifestation  of  the  eternal  life — the 
life  of  the  ages,  in  Jesus  Christ.  This  life  was  heard, 
seen,  gazed  upon,  and  handled.  The  life  was  in  the 
Father,  and  it  was  manifested  in  the  Son,  who  thus  be- 
came the  word  and  the  life  to  us.  A  very  natural  ques- 
tion would  be  :  If  a  life  that  has  never  been  clearly  seen 
before  by  human  eyes  is  now  revealed — if  a  character 
that  has  never  before  been  known  is  now  manifested, 
who  is  he  ?  what  is  he  like  ?  is  there  any  message  from 
that  manifested  life  ?  The  answer  is  :  *'  God  is  light, 
and  darkness  there  is  not  in  him,  no,  not  any."  This 
is  the  description  of  the  being  of  God,  and  then  follows 
the  relation  of  the  believer  to  God  as  thus  made  known. 
^'  This  is  the  message.''  This  word  occurs  in  our 
Epistle  in  the  eleventh  verse  of  the  third  chapter  : 
''  This  is  the  message  that  ye  heard  from  the  beginning, 
that  we  should  love  one  another."  It  is  a  revelation  in 
a  person  and  not  a  discovery.  God  gives  tidings  of  him- 
self, and  only  by  this  gift  can  man  come  to  know  him. 
12 


FELLOWSHIP    IN    LIGHT  13 

**Caust  thou  by  searcliidg  find  out  God?  Canst  thou 
find  out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection?"  This  mes- 
sage had  been  announced,  not  so  much  from  the  lips  of 
Christ  as  from  what  he  was  and  did.  It  was  not  merely 
a  word  or  a  discourse,  but  the  whole  revelation  made 
through  him.  Having  been  received  from  Christ,  it  is 
declared — announced — and  repeated  to  us.  In  other 
words,  John  hands  down  the  message  which  he  re- 
ceivedj  It  was  no  invention  or  discovery  on  the  part  of 
John  or  of  the  other  apostles.  He  did  not  give  to  the 
church  his  latest  thought  or  final  conclusions,  spun  out 
of  his  own  imagination  or  reasoning,  but  he  simply 
echoed  to  the  church  what  had  been  sounded  in  his  own 
ears  and  what  had  been  made  real  to  his  own  soul.  The 
Son,  who  was  the  apostle  of  the  Father,  announced  the 
message  received  from  the  Father  ;  and  the  apostles  of 
the  Son  repeated  to  us  the  message  received  from  the 
Son.  Christ  himself  was  the  embodiment  of  the  mes- 
sage both  when  coming  from  the  Father  to  the  apostles 
and  also  when  coming  from  the  apostles  to  us.  * '  Hear 
ye  him, ' '  said  the  Father  ;  ' '  Whom  we  preach, ' '  said 
Paul.  This  is  the  thought  in  Thessalonians  :  ''From 
you  hath  sounded  forth  the  word  of  the  Lord  ' ' — or 
more  exactly,  from  you  hath  echoed  the  word.  The 
echo  repeats  the  original  sound.  We  echo  what  God 
reveals.  We  invent  nothing.  We  follow  the  ''scien- 
tific method."  The  scientist  studies  nature  for  his 
facts  ;  we  study  the  Christ  of  the  Scrijitures  for  ours. 

Other  writers  tell  us  what  God  does  and  what  attri- 
butes he  possesses,  but  John  goes  to  the  root  of  things 


14  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

and  tells  what  God  is.  God  is  Spirit,  God  is  Light, 
God  is  Love — not  the  Spirit,  or  the  Light,  or  the  Love, 
but  Spirit,  Light,  and  Love.  These  are  his  very  es- 
sence. The  simplest  child  can  understand  them  and 
the  profoundest  philosopher  cannot  exhaust  them. 

In  all  the  ancient  world  they  had  false  notions  of 
God.  The  world,  through  its  wisdom  knew  not  God. 
To  the  heathen  he  was  a  malevolent  being — a  God  of 
power,  vengeance,  and  hatred,  to  be  dreaded  and  pro- 
pitiated. To  the  Greek,  God  stood  for  the  forces  of  na- 
ture, transformed  into  superhuman  men  and  women. 
To  the  philosopher  he  was  a  mere  abstraction.  But 
John  sweeps  away  all  this  error  at  a  stroke  by  summing 
up  what  the  Old  Testament  dimly  approached,  and  what 
the  Lord  Jesus  made  visible.  In  the  Old  Testament 
the  garment  of  God  is  light,  his  appearance  is  bright- 
ness, and  his  brightness  is  as  the  light.  Isaiah  had  said, 
"  The  Lord  shall  be  to  thee  an  everlasting  light,"  but 
this  falls  short  of  "God  is  light."  There  is  not  a  spot 
of  darkness  in  him — nothing  hating  or  hateful,  noth- 
ing crooked,  unjust,  or  impure.  There  is  not  even  one 
dark  spot  in  his  whole  being.  He  has  no  malice  toward 
the  weakest  creature  he  has  formed,  and  no  unright- 
eousness in  the  smallest  act  of  his  providence.  Tliis 
positive  and  negative  way  of  stating  a  truth  runs  all 
through  this  Epistle.^  It  is  not  a  repetition.  He  is 
essentially  light,  perfect  and  unmixed  in  his  nature, 
and  in  our  realization  of  that  revelation  there  is  no 
darkness.     Darkness  is  excluded  from  the  idea  of  God 

1  Vcr.  6,  8 ;  2  :  4,  7  ;  5  :  20. 


FELLOWSHIP   IN    LIGHT  15 

by  his  essential  nature.  "God  is  light,  and  in  him 
there  is  no,  not  even  one  speck  of,  darkness." 

Jesus  is  therefore  spoken  of  as  the  One  in  whom  was 
''  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men."  ^  He  is  the 
* '  real  light  which  lightens  every  man  coming  into  the 
world,"  or  the  "  Light  of  the  world."  '  And  Chris- 
tians, so  far  as  they  are  able  to  reproduce  the  life  of 
Christ,  are  themselves  the  light  of  the  world.  They 
do  not  enlighten  the  world.  Jesus  himself  did  not  do 
that  for  men.  That  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
But  they  throw  a  light  upon  the  world.  That  is  the 
work  of  the  Master,  and  in  us,  as  well  as  in  him,  the 
life  is  the  light. 

To  the  Ephesians  this  expression  would  mean  much. 
Diana,  their  great  object  of  worship,  was  the  goddess 
of  the  moon.  They  w^ere  also  devoted  to  Apollo,  who 
was  the  god  of  the  sun.  They  connected  their  idols 
with  these  beautiful  objects.  But  they  must  have  felt 
that  there  was  a  higher  light  proceeding  from  God  than 
that  which  their  eyes  could  see.  The  light  seen  by  the 
eye  could  never  enable  them  to  choose  the  right  path 
or  to  avoid  the  wrong,  in  the  moral  world.  But  he  who 
could  create  these  heavenly  bodies  must  be  light,  and 
must  be  better  and  more  divine  than  Avhat  their  eyes 
saw.  Yet  they  constantly  confused  the  light  from  sun 
and  moon,  which  they  saw,  with  that  which  they  saw 
not.  They  even  exalted  the  lower  light  above  the 
higher — the  creation  above  the  Creator — and  that  was 
their  idolatry.     They  worshiped  what  they  saw.     And 

1  John  1:4.  2  John  8  :  12. 


// 


16  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF   JOHN 

from  this  worship  of  the  great  luminaries  of  the  heavens 
arose  their  worship  of  man  ;  for  they  felt  that  man  was 
greater  than  these  material  things — then  why  should 
not  divine  honor  be  given  to  him  ? 

No  figure  could  better  represent  absolute  holiness  than 
that  of  light.  Physically  light  stands  for  si)lendor  and 
glory,  intellectually,  for  unmixed  truth,  and  morally, 
for  spotless  holiness.  It  is  a  profound  and  at  the  same 
time  a  simple  description  of  God.  God  "dwells  in  light 
unapproachable."  In  the  natural  world  there  are 
three  forces,  as  there  are  three  colors  in  light,  but  what 
light  is  no  one  has  been  able  to  discover.  Whatever 
theory  of  light  may  be  accepted,  still  back  of  all  phe- 
nomena in  its  absolute  essence  there  is  a  something  past 
finding  out.  The  trinity  in  unity  has  often  been  seen. 
Scientists  say  light  has  * '  actinic,  luminiferous,  and 
calorific  power," — it  has  life-giving,  light-giving,  and 
heat -imparting  power, — force,  light,  and  warmth,  and 
these  are  one.  All  three  are  required  in  the  various 
processes  of  nature.  Every  ray  of  light  may  also  be 
divided  into  three  colors — the  blue,  the  yellow,  and  the 
red  ;  but  here  again  the  harmonious  action  of  all  three 
is  necessary  to  bring  to  perfection  any  life  in  the  mate- 
rial world.  To  separate,  for  example,  the  blue  ray 
from  the  light  shining  upon  a  plant  will  mature  the 
fruit,  but  there  W'ill  be  no  seed  in  it — no  power  of  re- 
production. The  blue  is  active  or  life-producing,  the 
yellow  luminous  or  light-giving,  the  red  calorific  or 
heat-creating.  So  w^e  have  life,  light,  and  warmth  in 
the  natural  world,  and  in  the  spiritual  world,  holiness, 


FELLOWSHIP    IN    LIGHT  17 

truth,  and  love.  And  these  correspond  to  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Spirit.  The  Father  originates,  the  Son  ac- 
complishes, and  the  Holy  Spirit  molds.  Just  as  every 
ray  of  white  light  proceeding  from  the  sun  can  be  di- 
vided into  its  three  elementary  colors,  so  every  revela- 
tion which  God  has  made  of  himself  has  a  three-fold - 
ness  of  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit  in  one  God.  God  did 
not  create  light  for  the  world.  He  said  "  let  light  be  " 
— let  it  be  brought  into  contact  with  a  darkened  and 
confused  earth  lying  in  ruins.  In  like  manner  he  who 
is  light  shines  into  our  hearts,  and  then  we  too  are  in 
the  light.  To  walk  in  the  light  is  to  be  in  fellowship 
with  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit, — to  share  divine  life, 
light,  and  warmth, — to  be  in  accord  with  holiness,  truth, 
and  love. 

Light  in  the  limited  sphere  of  our  being  is  what  God 
is  in  the  heavenly  world.  He  is  unapproachable,  in- 
finite, and  yet  everywhere  present.  Light  stands  for 
ubiquity,  brightness,  purity,  holiness,  and  truth.  It  is 
opposed  to  darkness  as  righteousness  is  to  sin.  It  is  the 
condition  of  life,  growth,  and  beauty,  as  darkness  is  the 
condition  of  death,  decay,  and  deformity.  [N'othing 
can  reveal  light  but  itself,  and  yet  it  reveals  all  things 
and  is  defiled  by  none.     And  such  is  God. 

Accordingly  John  tells  of  the  revelation  of  a  higher 
light  than  that  which  feeds  the  life,  guides  the  feet,  and 
reveals  beauty  in  material  things.  The  Ephesians  were 
right  in  dreaming  of  light,  and  Christ  came  to  fulfill 
the  dream.  The  sun  and  moon  were  God's  creatures 
to  bless  his  creation,  but  that  light  which  creates  and 


18  THE   FIEST    EPISTLE   OF   JOHN 

fosters  spiritual  life,  which  guides  the  feet  in  moral 
ways,  which  reveals  the  beauty  of  the  divine  world, 
which  brings  men  into  fellowship  with  that  world  and 
with  each  other,  is  God  ;  and  he  has  been  revealed  to 
men  in  his  Son.  This  Son  is  the  true  light  illuminating 
the  whole  race  of  man. 

This  is  the  message,  God  is  Light.  How  simple. 
I  was  walking  and  all  was  well  until  the  sun  went  down 
and  darkness  came.  I  lost  my  way,  mistook  pools  of 
water  for  polished  pavements  and  stumps  for  houses. 
But  when  the  light  daw'ned  all  was  plain.  Just  so  the 
Day-spring  from  on  high  hath  visited  us  in  Christ  "  to 
guide  our  feet  in  the  way  of  peace."  By  its  light  we 
are  wakened  from  the  delusion  of  dreams  to  a  world 
that  is  real,  true,  and  enduring. 

**  I  heard  the  voice  of  Jesus  say, 
I  am  this  dark  world's  light ; 
Look  unto  me,  thy  morn  shall  rise 
And  all  thy  way  be  bright." 

And  what  a  view  of  God  this  is  !  You  may  have  the 
whole  of  the  light  of  the  shining  sun  and  your  neigh- 
bor will  be  none  the  poorer.  He  too  can  have  the 
whole  and  you  will  be  just  as  rich.  You  cannot  pos- 
sess the  light  as  you  do  a  bond,  a  book,  a  farm,  or  a 
house.  You  can  only  have  the  light  of  God  in  partner- 
ship with  all  others  who  receive  its  warming  power,  its 
illuminating  joy,  and  its  life-giving  wealth. 

Now,  how  can  we,  being  sinful  as  we  are  and  having 
sinned  as  we  have,  be  maintained  in  fellow^ship  with 


FELLOWSHIP    IN    LIGHT  19 

God  as  he  isf  It  is  not  merely  how  God's  way  can  be 
harmonized  with  our  way,  but  how  God  himself  can  be 
in  harmony  with  the  nature  of  man,  that  is  under  con- 
sideration here.  This  great  question  John  proceeds  to 
answer. 

The  antithetic  structure  of  these  verses  would  have  a 
peculiar  charm  to  Greek  readers  accustomed  to  this  ar- 
rangement. It  corresponds  also  to  the  style  of  the 
Psalms  and  much  of  the  prophetic  writings.  The  form 
in  which  this  is  cast  will  be  best  understood  by  writing 
out  the  opposing  sentences  separately  as  follows  : 

If  we  say  we  have  fellowship  with  him  and  walk  in  dark- 
ness, 
We  lie 
And  do  not  the  truth. 

But  if  we  walk  in  the  light  as  he  is  in  the  light, 

We  have  fellowship  one  with  another 

And  the  blood  of  Jesus  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin. 

If  we  say  we  have  no  sin, 
We  deceive  ourselves, 
And  the  truth  is  not  in  us. 

If  we  confess  our  sins, 

He  is  faithful  and  righteous  to  forgive  us  our  sins. 

And  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness. 

If  we  say  that  we  have  not  sinned, 
We  make  him  a  liar, 
And  his  word  is  not  in  us. 

Three  distinct  confessions  may  be  made  in  connection 
with  our  relation  to  God,  who  is  light,  who  exists  in 

c 


20  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF   JOHN 

light,  and  is  revealed  in  light.  '^  If  we  say  ive  have 
fellowship  with  him,'^  is  the  confession  with  which  we 
have  to  do  just  now.  This  means  a  conscious  fellow- 
ship, but  not  necessarily  a  public  confession  to  men. 
Indeed,  it  is  rather  the  soul's  confession  to  the  Father 
than  to  the  world.  With  his  usual  graciousness  John 
does  not  say  if  ye,  but  ' '  if  we, ' '  putting  himself  with 
the  humblest  of  believers. 

Here  we  have  an  acknowledgment  of  union  with  the 
unseen  God.  All  men  have  hungered  after  this  very 
thing.  Men  instinctively  desire  communication  with 
beings  higher  than  themselves.  This  fact  is  one  of  the 
chief  barriers  against  Christianity  amongst  the  heathen. 
All  uncivilized  tribes  have  some  means  by  which  they 
suppose  they  have  intercourse  Avith  unseen  spirits.  This, 
also,  is  the  foundation  of  spiritualism  in  Christendom. 
Modern  spiritualism  is  the  most  refined  form  of  heathen 
superstition.  These  grotesque  features  of  intruding  into 
the  realm  of  the  unseen,  both  among  the  civilized  and 
the  uncivilized  tribes,  doubtless  have  some  foundation 
in  fact.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  is  a  kingdom  of 
darkness  into  which  men  may  penetrate.  But  here  God 
is  revealed  to  us  as  light  ;  and  real  fellowship  is  estab- 
lished between  him  and  us.  Into  this  unseen  realm  we 
may  enter  by  faith.  Its  existence  to  us  is  a  reality. 
This  is  something  worthy  of  the  dignity  of  man.  It  is 
not  a  communication  from  lying  demons  claiming  to  be 
disembodied  spirits,  but  communion  with  the  living 
God,  based  upon  a  message  received  from  him. 

"  If  we  say  we  have  fellowship  with  him  and  walk  in 


FELLOWSHIP    IN    LIGHT  21 

darkness.''  This  walk  includes  the  ordinary  conduct 
of  everyday  life,  the  whole  sphere  of  life,  inward  and 
outward,  what  we  are  and  what  we  do.  If  w^e  walk  in 
moral  darkness,  in  hatred  and  in  hateful  ways,  in  self- 
seeking,  impurity,  and  injustice,  we  can  no  more  have 
fellowship  with  God  than  we  can  live  in  a  coal  pit  and 
participate  in  the  light  of  the  sun.  The  choice  of  dark- 
ness as  our  sphere  of  action  is  the  rejection  of  God  as 
our  source  of  communion. 

Sunlight  can  be  shut  out  but  not  shut  in.  You  can 
walk  in  the  midst  of  it  and  yet  be  without  it,  but  you 
cannot  walk  where  it  is  not  and  yet  be  in  it.  We  can- 
not walk  in  one  way  and  point  to  another,  saying,  "  That 
is  my  w^ay."  Any  statement  to  this  effect  puts  us  in 
a  position  where  ^'ive  lie,  and  do  not  the  truth.''  We 
are.  false  in  both  word  and  deed.  We  speak  what  we 
know  is  false,  and  neglect  to  carry  out  in  deed  what  we 
know  is  true.  It  does  not  mean  that  we  mistake,  but 
we  knowingly  speak  falsely  and  knowingly  act  contrary 
to  the  truth.  What  we  say  is  false  ;  what  we  do  is  not 
in  harmony  with  the  truth. 

"But  if  ive  walk  in  the  light."  We  walk  in  the 
light,  God  is  in  the  light — he  is  light.  We  move  in 
time,  he  inhabiteth  eternity.  To  have  communion  with 
light,  we  must  partake  of  its  nature.  Light  can  only 
be  linked  with  that  which  is  of  itself.  This  walk  is  not 
merely  an  imitation  of  God,  but  it  is  the  essential  ele- 
ment, the  controlling  principle,  of  our  lives,  breathing 
in  harmony  with  the  essence  of  God's  nature.  It  is 
God  and  our  inmost  life  that  we  have  here.     We  are 


22  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

in  the  presence  of  God  without  a  veil.  In  this  near- 
ness we  walk  before  the  face  of  God,  enlightened  by 
the  full  revelation  of  what  he  is.  In  this  most  holy 
place,  this  secret  of  his  presence,  w^e  have  ^^ fellowship 
one  with  another.''^  However  selfish  the  world  and  the 
flesh  may  be,  selfish  aims  can  have  no  place  in  our 
hearts  when  we  walk  in  the  light.  We  can  enjoy  with 
another  the  light  and  all  we  see  in  it,  and  have  no 
jealousy  in  the  heart.  In  material  things,  however,  we 
are  for  the  most  part  deprived  of  what  another  possesses. 
In  the  light  of  God  we  have  common  possession  of  that 
which  God  gives  us,  and  we  rejoice  to  share  it  with  an- 
other. It  is  only  when  we  walk  in  the  light  that 
brother  has  the  fullest  fellowship  with  brother.  Fel- 
lowship with  God  in  heaven  introduces  us  to  fellowship 
in  actual  life  on  earth.  Indeed,  fellowship  with  the 
brethren  will  become  a  sign  of  fellowship  with  God. 
In  Egypt  'nhey  saw  not  one  another  "  during  the  three 
days  of  thick  darkness.  In  the  spiritual  world  it  is 
only  when  the  light  comes  that  the  brother  is  discovered, 
and  fellowship  begins.  With  John  fellowship  with  be- 
lievers is  the  visible  effect  and  correlative  of  fellowship 
with  God.  When  we  are  brought  into  union  with 
God,  through  Christ,  we  become  like  the  parts  of  a 
wheel,  bound  together  by  the  circle  of  light. 

Christ  was  the  light  himself  and  he  has  proclaimed 
light  to  Jew  and  Gentile  by  the  resurrection  from  the 
dead.^  We  have  been  called  out  of  darkness  into  this 
marvelous  light. '^     Our  eyes  have  been  unveiled,  that 

1  Acts  26  :  23.  ^1  Peter  2  :  9. 


FELLOWSHIP    IN    LIGHT  23 

we  might  see  the  light  of  the  gospel  of  the  glory  of 
Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God/  The  Father  has 
made  us  fit  to  be  partakers  with  the  saints  in  light. ^ 
By  believing  we  become  sons  of  light, ^  and  are  light  in 
the  Lord.*  And  God,  who  commanded  light  to  shine 
out  of  darkness,  is  he  who  hath  shined  into  our  hearts, 
to  give  out  the  light  of  his  glory.  With  all  these  mer- 
cies crowning  our  overflowing  cup,  it  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  we  may  ivalk  in  light,  as  God  is  light,  and 
then  find  ourselves  in  sweetest  fellowship  with  all  the 
sons  of  light. 

Now,  this  walk  in  light  not  only  puts  us  in  touch 
with  the  saints  without  us,  but  it  also  reveals  the  sm 
within  us.  It  is  not  ' '  sins  ' '  that  come  under  review 
here,  but  the  thing  ''  sin  "—not  the  act,  but  the  nature 
— not  what  we  do,  but  what  we  are — the  spring  and 
principle,  and  not  the  outward  manifestation  of  its  na- 
ture. The  noun  is  singular  and  represents  the  un- 
changed and  unchangeable  ''mind  of  the  flesh,"  ''law 
of  sin,"  "sin  in  the  flesh,"  which  we  carry  with  us  to 
the  grave.  It  cannot  refer  to  any  acts  growing  out  of 
this  nature,  for  those  who  ' '  walk  in  the  light  as  God  is 
in  the  light"  cannot  be  committing  "  sins,"  although 
they  may  have  "sin."  Acts  of  sin  may  not  be  done 
by  them  although  the  nature  of  sin  may  be  in  them. 

The  word  "cleanse,"  when  applied  to  the  blood  of 
Jesus,  is  used  in  the  sacrificial  sense  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. Take  Lev.  16  :  30  and  14  :  7  as  examples. 
' '  On  that  day  shall  the  priest  make  an  atonement  for 

1  2  Cor.  4:4.  a  col.  1 :  12.  3  John  12  :  36.  *  Eph.  5  :  8. 


24  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

you,  to  cleanse  you,  that  ye  may  be  clean  from  all  your 
sins  before  the  Lord."  Here  cleansing  is  expressly 
declared  to  be  the  result  of  an  external  work  performed 
jov  the  people  by  the  priest,  and  not  in  the  people  by 
the  blood.  Again,  "and  he  shall  sprinkle  upon  him 
that  is  to  be  cleansed  from  the  leprosy  seven  times,  and 
shall  pronounce  him  clean."  Here  again,  it  was  the 
work  done  for  the  man  and  not  in  him  that  has  pro- 
duced his  cleansing.  The  person  under  the  efficacy  of 
the  blood  shed  had  no  defilement  imputed  to  him, 
although  he  had  it  in  him,  but  was  authoritatively  pro- 
nounced clean,  and  therefore  was  no  longer  subject  to 
punishment.  This  is  the  sense  in  which  cleansing  is 
used  by  John.  Ritual  cleansing  was  the  condition  of 
participation  in  approach  to  God  under  the  Old  Cove- 
nant. Under  the  ISTew  Covenant  the  blood  cleanses  the 
conscience  to  serve  the  living  God,  and  this  is  the  sense 
in  which  it  is  used  by  John. 

It  is  also  true  that  because  of  the  shed  blood  of 
Jesus,  and  because  of  our  being  counted  precious  ac- 
cording to  its  preciousness,  the  Holy  Ghost  comes  to  us 
now.  By  his  agency  we  are  freed  from  the  dominion 
of  sin,  although  not  now  from  the  presence  of  sin.  On 
account  of  the  blood  of  Christ,  additional  j)ower  will  be 
brought  into  connection  with  us,  at  his  second  coming, 
that  will  free  us  from  the  presence  of  sin.  But  until 
that  time  the  thing  *'sin  "  is  in  us,  although  it  need 
not  have  dominion  over  us.  The  blood  of  Jesus,  the 
Son  of  God,  however,  according  to  this  Scripture,  avails 
for  us  before  God  now,  so  that  the  defilement  of  the 


FELLOWSHIP    IN    LIGHT  25 

indwelling  sin  is  not  imputed  to  us.  It  does  not  cleanse 
us  by  being  applied  in  some  mystical  way  to  our  inmost 
being.  The  blood  was  shed  for  us,  and  the  precious- 
ness  of  its  poured-out  life  is  imputed  to  us.  And  it  is 
^^the  blood  of  Jesus  the  So7i  of  him.''  His  incom- 
parable dignity  and  spotless  holiness  gave  value  to  the 
life  poured  out  in  sacrifice  for  us  upon  the  cross.  Be- 
cause of  its  value  we  have  present  cleansing  from  the 
defilement  of  sin,  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  de- 
livering from  its  power,  and  in  the  resurrection  we  shall 
be  free  from  its  presence  forever.  But  whether  we 
have  cleansing  from,  and  power  over  sin  now,  or  de- 
liverance from  its  presence  at  the  coming  of  the  Lord, 
it  is  all  through  the  blood,  acting  God-ward  in  our  be- 
half. 

To  cleanse  from  sin,  therefore,  means  to  free  from  the 
imputation  of  the  defilement  that  attaches  to  sin,  in  the 
sight  of  God.^  Here  it  is  the  sin  which  we  discover 
when  we  are  walking  in  the  light  that  is  under  consid- 
eration. It  also  frees  us  from  the  penal  results  of  such 
defilement.  We  have  the  same  thought  in  Rev.  7  :  IS- 
IS :  *'  These  which  are  arrayed  in  white  robes,  who  are 
they,  and  whence  came  they  ?  These  are  they  which 
came  out  of  the  great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their 
robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
Therefore  they  are  before  the  throne  of  God."  This 
passage  plainly  directs  us  to  the  sacrificial  power  of  the 
blood,  showing  that  the  preciousness  of  the  life  which 

1  It  is  a  pity  so  many  modern  writers  speak  of  cleansing  as  if  it  were  a 
process  of  being  sponged,  entirely  missing  its  scriptural  conception. 


26  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

was  in  his  blood  is  imputed  to  us,  and  the  defilement 
in  us  is  not  imputed — it  is  not  reckoned  to  our  account. 
When  we  are  brought  to  Christ  by  faith,  we  are  said  to 
be  sprinkled,  cleansed,  washed.  Our  persons,  there- 
fore, are  regarded  as  preserved  in  cleanness,  because  of 
the  continual  efficacy  of  the  blood  once  offered.  As  to 
our  personal  standing,  the  cleansing  does  not  need  re- 
peating. Our  ''consciences  once  purged,"  testify  no 
longer  of  sin  imputed  to  us  in  its  guilt  and  conse- 
quences, but  they  do  testify  of  sin  atoned,  canceled, 
and  put  away  forever.  Now,  this  consciousness  of 
being  cleansed,  abides  with  us  even  when  we  detect  the 
thing  "  sin  "  within  us  while  walking  in  the  paths  of 
light.  Hence  the  blood  cleanses,  is  cleansing,  and  of 
course  Ave  are  being  cleansed  from  all  sin. 

The  one  who  walks  in  the  light  in  greatest  nearness, 
will  have  the  keenest  sense  of  his  own  frailty  and  the 
tenderest  gratitude  for  the  cleansing  blood.  He  will 
repeat  the  experience  of  the  high  priest  within  the  veil. 
While  trembling  before  the  light  he  will  rejoice  because 
of  the  blood  in  which  he  enters  and  because  of  which 
God  rests  upon  the  mercy-seat.  The  unscriptural  state- 
ment of  some  teachers  that  the  blood  means  the  Holy 
Ghost,  had  its  origin  in  Edward  Irving,  and  is  seldom 
heard  in  the  present  day.  Others  have  said  that  it  is 
the  life  or  the  soul  of  Jesus  imparted  to  us.  But  there 
is  no  such  teaching  in  the  text.  Others  still  advance 
some  coarse  thought  about  the  blood  of  Christ  entering 
into  the  heart  to  cleanse  it  within.  But  this  is  gross, 
material,  and  impossible.     The  truth  and  the  Spirit 


FELLOWSHIP   IN    LIGHT  27 

enter  the  soul,  but  not  the  material  blood.  The  life  of 
Christ  most  assuredly  is  imparted  to  us,  but  that  is 
quite  a  different  matter  from  what  is  under  considera- 
tion here. 

The  Romanists  teach  that  indwelling  sin,  if  resisted, 
is  not  sin.  But  James  says  :  "  Every  man  when  he  is 
tempted  is  drawn  aside  of  his  own  lusts  and  enticed." 
Surely  that  which  tempts  and  draws  aside  cannot  itself 
be  sinless  if  it  leads  to  sin.  This  twist  in  our  nature, 
whether  indulged  or  resided,  is  sin  before  God.  But  we 
are  reckoned  absolutely  clean  on  account  of  the  blood, 
so  that  we  can  have  fellowship  with  the  unsullied  holi- 
ness of  God  in  light.  The  sin  which  remains  in  us  is 
not  imputed,  but  the  spotlessness  of  the  blood  of  Christ 
is  imputed  to  us  instead.  In  that  sense  we  are  being 
cleansed.  The  spotless  life  in  us  is  fed  by  the  truth, 
through  the  action  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  blood, 
atoning  for  the  sin  within  keeps  us  clean. 

Having  sin  completely  expiated,  and  being  fully 
cleansed,  it  can  truthfully  be  said,  "already  are  ye 
clean  because  of  the  word  spoken."  That  ''word" 
has  brought  us  to  Christ,  and  we  have  a  perfect  cleans- 
ing through  him.  Our  sin  was  imputed  to  Christ.  The 
shedding  of  his  blood  put  it  away.  The  spotlessness  of 
that  life  which  was  in  his  blood  is  imputed  to  us.  It  is 
thus,  and  thus  only,  that  we  are  cleansed  moment  by 
moment  when  walking  in  the  light.  If  the  blood  of 
beasts  could  make  the  Old  Testament  saints  ceremonially 
clean,  purifying  the  flesh,  how  much  more  shall  the 
blood  of  Jesus  cleanse  the  conscience.     When  we  ap- 


28  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

preliend  the  fullness  of  the  work  accomplished  for  us, 
however  much  the  penetrating  light  of  God  may  reveal 
the  sin  in  us,  we  have  none  of  its  defilement  on  our 
conscience,  before  God — the  conscience  is  cleansed, 
moment  by  moment,  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  his  Son. 
Blessed  be  his  name  !  No  Christian  in  this  life  is  free; 
from  the  presence  of  sin,  that  horrible  thing  which  God 
hates.  It  is  far  better  to  own  that  we  are  conscious  of 
this  indwelling  poison  and  have  the  assurance  that  truth 
has  illuminated  our  minds  than  to  deny  it  while  we 
hear  God  say  that  "  the  truth  is  not  in  us."  Indeed, 
I  had  far  rather  have  the  deepest  sense  of  sin  within, 
accompanied  with  the  truth,  than  to  have  the  highest 
sense  of  the  most  exalted  character,  while  God  declares 
that  his  truth  finds  no  home  in  my  heart.  But  side  by 
side  with  this  deep  consciousness  of  the  existence  of  the 
thing  sin  within  us,  we  may  cherish  the  abiding  assur- 
ance that  it  is  so  completely  cleansed  by  the  precious 
blood  that,  in  our  communion  with  God,  it  is  as  though 
there  was  not  a  spot  or  stain  in  our  whole  being — '*  The 
blood  of  Jesus  his  Son  cleauseth  us  from  all  sm.''j 


CHAPTER  III 

CONFESSION  AND    FORGIVENESS 

We  have  seen  ' '  The  Life ' '  revealed 
in  Jesus  who  becomes  himself  the 
Life.  All  that  was  made  known  through  him  becomes 
the  "word  of  life"  to  us.  This  life  received  brings 
"  fellowship  with  God  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ," 
and  also  fullness  of  joy  to  the  sons  of  God.  But  the 
message  out  of  that  revelation  shows  that  God  is  light 
and  reveals  the  startling  fact  that  we  have  sin.  To 
meet  this  emergency  we  are  assured  that  if  we  continue 
in  fellowship  with  the  light,  walking  in  it  as  God  dwells 
in  it,  then  we  find  grace,  cleansing  utterly  and  abso- 
lutely from  all  sin,  through  the  precious  blood.  To 
say  we  have  fellowship  with  him  and  walk  in  darkness 
is  to  lie  with  our  lips,  and  to  do  what  is  not  the  truth 
with  our  deeds. 

And  now  we  come  to  those  who  may  deny  their  need 
of  the  cleansing  while  walking  in  the  light.  ''  If  we 
say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves.''^  Having 
assumed  that  we  have  indwelling  sin,  the  writer  pro- 
ceeds to  discuss  a  negative  statement  concerning  our 
condition.  John  seems  fond  of  clinching  things  in  this 
way.  If  we  thus  say,  w^e  deceive  ourselves — we  lead 
ourselves  astray.     The  result  of  our  being  deceived  is 

29 


30  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

due  to  our  own  efforts.  We  know  w^e  speak  falsel}^ 
and  yet  endeavor  to  persuade  ourselves  that  what  we 
say  is  true.  More  than  this,  the  truth  is  not  in  us.  It 
is  not  inwardly  efficacious  and  is  not  outwardly  realized. 
It  has  not  imparted  the  new  life  within,  its  light  is  not 
welcomed  by  the  conscience,  and  its  fruit  is  not  seen  in 
the  walk.  The  truth  of  God  is  the  very  first  spark  of 
light  to  man.  If  it  had  a  place  within  us,  God's  holi- 
ness and  our  sinfulness  would  be  in  such  awful  contrast 
that  we  could  not  be  deceived  about  our  condition,  and 
therefore  it  would  not  be  in  our  hearts  to  say  we  have 
no  sin. 

Still  further,  this  principle  of  sin  within  may  lead  to 
acts  of  sin  without.  If  so,  then  what  shall  we  do  ? 
Are  we  utterly  lost,  or  is  there  still  hope?  There  is  a 
remedy,  fully  meeting  this  need  of  the  saint  and  per- 
fectly satisfying  the  holiness  of  God  :  ^^  If  we  confess 
our  sins,  he  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins.'* 
*If  we  confess  he  forgives  ;  not  if  we  pray,  for  the  writer 
has  in  mind  something  deeper  than  prayer.  If  we  ac- 
knowledge our  sins  to  God  and  do  not  attempt  to  con- 
ceal them  from  the  brotherhood  of  men,  he  will  for- 
give. It  is  confession  of  the  lips  growing  out  of  con- 
trition of  the  heart. ^  As  in  a  court  of  justice  a  man 
confesses  judgment  when  he  admits  all  that  is  charged 
against  him,  so  before  the  court  of  God  he  confesses  his 
sins  when  he  owns  what  the  word  lays  at  his  door.^ 
This  confession  extends  to  definite  and  specific  acis, 
clearly  defined  in  the  indictment,  and  is  not  limited  to 

1  John  1  :  20.  2  John  1 :  20 ;  9  :  22 ;  12  :  42  ;  Rom.  10 :  9. 


CONFESSION    AND    FORGIVENESS  31 

sin  in  general.  It  is  not  a  wholesale  confession,  but  it 
implies  a  bill  of  particulars  both  in  the  accusation  and 
in  the  confession.  And  in  every  case  a  frank  gpnfes- 
sion  is  met  with  a  free  forgiveness — forgiveness  from  the  ^ 
punishment  and  cleansing  from  the  practice  of  sin.  As 
to  our  persons,  we  are  still  clean.  "  He  that  is  bathed 
needeth  not  save  to  wash  his  feet,  but  is  clean  every 
whit."  We  need  our  feet  washed  ;  that  is,  w^e  need  the 
removal  of  the  defilement  contracted  from  our  every- 
day walk,  that  we  may  be  "  every  whit  "  clean. 

At  the  last  supper  the  apostles  had  just  bathed  and 
were  clean.  As  they  passed  from  the  place  of  bathing 
to  the  paschal  feast  dust  had  accumulated  on  their  feet, 
and  not  until  they  washed  were  they  clean  again. 
When  we  believe  in  Christ  we  are  washed,  sanctified, 
and  justified.^  This  does  not  need  to  be  repeated.  But 
we  contract  defilement  by  our  daily  walk.  This  must 
be  removed,  for  God  would  have  us  every  whit  clean. 
Jesus  is  ever  "girded  with  the  towel"  and  present 
with  the  water  to  remove  whatever  soils  the  soul.  This 
washing  of  the  feet  and  cleansing  of  the  walk  is  the 
result  of  confession.  It  need  scarcely  be  added  that 
there  is  not  the  most  remote  allusion  to  the  modern 
''confessional"  in  this  passage.  The  sin  is  against] 
God,  confession  must  be  made  to  God,  and  then  for- 
giveness will  come  from  God  through  his  son,  Jesus 
Christ.  Moreover,  to  confess  is  to  say  the  same  thing 
back  to  God,  to  echo  from  our  hearts  what  he  utters  in 
his  word.     He  declares  that  we  have  sinned — marks 

~~  1 1  Cor.  6  :  11. 


32  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF   JOHN 

out  the  sin — we  just  own  the  truthfulness  of  what  he 
says.     This  is  scriptural  confession. 

Our  God  is  not  fickle  but  faithful,  not  railing  but 
righteous.  His  fidelity  and  righteousness  are  for  us, 
and  not  against  us.  But  he  abominates  a  sham,  and 
therefore  requires  an  acknowledgment  of  the  facts  in  the 
case.  When  this  is  made,  he  forgives.  Before  earthly 
courts  confession  secures  conviction.  The  opposite  is 
true  before  the  court  of  God.  We  have  a  Surety  who 
acts  in  our  behalf.  Christ  bore  our  sins  on  the  cross, 
and  because  of  this  the  faithfulness  and  justice  of  God 
are  pledged  to  our  forgiveness  when  we  make  confes- 
sion. He  is  faithful  to  his  promise  and  just  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  his  purposes  of  redemption  in  Christ. 
Because  of  these  attributes  he  forgives  in  such  a  way  as 
to  cleanse  us,  not  from  sin ;  of  that  truth  we  have  been 
instructed  already.  But  he  who  is  righteous  will 
cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness — from  everything  _ 
crooked,  wicked,  and  wrong. 

Although  ''from  all  our  unrighteousness,"  in  the 
ninth  verse,  is  singular,  as  well  as  free  from  *'  all  sin  " 
in  the  seventh,  yet  there  is  a  diflference  to  be  observed. 
The  man  who  ivalhs  in  the  light,  just  as  God  dwells  in] 
the  light,  cannot  be  committing  any  act  of  sin.  Sin,  as 
an  inbred  principle  and  not  as  an  act,  must  therefore 
be  under  consideration  when  the  blood  '' cleanseth." 
Moreover,  John  invariably  uses  the  word  "  sin  "  in  that 
sense.*  But  in  the  ninth  verse  it  is  a  diflferent  Avord — 
a  word  which  signifies  one  who  is  not  what  he  ought  to 

1  John  1 :  29 ;  1  John  3  :  4  (R.  V.). 


CONFESSION    AND    FORGIVENESS  33 

be,  one  who  is  a  breaker  of  human  or  divine  laws,  one 
who  is  not  innocent,  or  faultless,  or  guiltless.     To  be* 
cleansed  from   all  unrighteousness,  then,  includes  the 
walk  as  well  as  the  heart  ;  it  includes  the  deeds  which 
violate  outward  law  and  disregard  recognized  relation- 
ship as  well  as  the  condition  of  the  heart  from  which 
such  deeds  spring.     Hence  it  exactly  agrees  with  the 
confession  of  sins,  and  not  merely  sin — that  is,  sinful  ^ 
acts,  and  a  sinful  nature  as  well.     He  that  confesses^ 
sins  has  his  sins  forgiven  and  is  cleansed  from  his  sinfuL 
conduct.     That  is  quite  different  from  walking  in  the 
light,  where   sin   is   discovered   and    cleansed  without 
confession.     The    very    light    which     convicts   of    the 
wrong  done,  and  the  grace  which  leads  to  the  confes- 
sion, become  lavers  of  cleansing  to  the  walk  and  life,  j 

This  is  the  end  which  God  seeks  respecting  us,  both 
in  the  fact  and  in  the  form  of  the  forgiveness  which  he 
deals  out  to  us.  To  confess  is  a  more  real  thing  than 
to  ask  forgiveness.  God  does  not  need  to  be  asked  ;  he 
never  changes.  But  our  sins  need  to  be  confessed  and 
judged.  They  are  constantly  changing.  We  repent 
as  sinners  toward  God,  whose  love  has  provided  a 
Saviour,  and  we  confess  as  believers  toward  God,  whose 
righteousness  has  provided  forgiveness.  In  the  third 
chapter  of  Romans  Paul  declares  that  God  maintains 
his  justice  unsullied  even  when  justifying  the  believing 
sinner.  Here  John  declares  he  is  just  in  forgiving  his 
confessing  child.  In  both  cases  the  justice  is  based 
upon  the  peerless  work  of  Christ  in  life  and  death. 
Naturally  we  would  say,  he  is  loving  and  gracious  to 


34  THE    FIEST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

forgive,  but  John  bases  forgiveness  upon  his  righteous- 
ness. Righteousness  is  the  recognition  of  what  is  due 
from  one  to  another.  It  is  due  from  God  to  the  con- 
fessing child,  who  is  made  partaker  of  his  life  and  light, 
to  have  forgiveness  granted  on  condition  of  his  confes- 
sion. It  is  due,  not  in  his  own  right,  but  by  virtue  of 
his  relation  to  God  in  Christ.  * '  Against  thee  and  thee 
only  have  I  sinned,  that  thou  mightest  be  justified 
when  thou  speakest  and  be  clear  when  thou  judgest/^ 
The  old  Scottish  saint  was  therefore  right  in  saying, 
"  My  only  hope  is  the  righteousness  of  God." 

The  one  who  confesses  sin,  while  in  the  act  of  judging 
his  ways,  will  have  the  truth  and  nature  of  God  re- 
vealed to  him  afresh.  Truth  in  action  is  righteousness,/ 
just  as  falsehood  in  action  is  sin.  ^  God's  righteousness 
is  his  love  in  action  disciplining  his  children.  Accor(J- 
ingly  we  have  here,  first,  the  forgiveness  of  the  specific 
sins  confessed,  and  then  the  character  of  the  one  who 
makes  the  confession  purified.  A  continued  and  un"^ 
broken  communion  with  God  leads  to  righteousness  in 
life.  Unconfessed  sin  destroys  communion  with  God, 
results  in  weakness,  and  leads  to  transgression.  Con- 
fession of  sin  restores  communion,  secures  nearness  and 
strength,  and  spiritual  strength  produces  righteousness. 
It  is  the  blood  that  "  cleanses  from  all  sin  "  ;  but  it  is 
God  himself  who  cleanses  from  all  unrighteous  ways. 
Let  it  always  and  everywhere  be  owned  and  confessed 
that  he  acts  by  and  through  the  virtue  of  the  blood. 
He  is  just  and  gracious,  he  is  light  and  love,  in  dealing 
with  us  because  of  this  blood.     But  it  is  the  action  of 


CONFESSION    AND    FORGIVENESS  35 

his  truth,  of  his  Spirit,  of  his  providence,  as  well  as  the 
confession  of  our  hearts  and  lips,  that  lead  to  the  cleans- 
ing from  all  unrighteousness  in  heart  and  life.  ^__J 

'  ^If  ive  say  that  ive  have  7iot  sinned. ' '  This  is  the  third 
time  John  uses  "  if  we  say."  Here  he  is  not  speaking 
of  sin  in  the  heart,  but  of  the  actual  commission  of  sins 
in  the  life — not  of  a  principle  but  of  a  result.  If  we 
say  we  have  fellowship  with  light  and  walk  in  dark- 
ness, we  lie  ;  if  we  say  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  our- 
selves ;  but  if  we  say  we  have  not  sinned,  we  make  God 
a  liar.  This  we  do,  both  because  God  says  w^e  have 
sinned,  and  because  he  has  sent  his  Son  into  the 
world  on  the  assumption  that  the  whole  world  has 
sinned,  and  therefore  ive  have  sinned.  Nay  more,  he 
has  provided  the  mediation  and  advocacy  of  Christ  to 
meet  this  need  of  his  saints  after  they  have  been  for- 
given as  sinners.  God  Avill  thus  be  made  a  liar,  be- 
cause of  his  testimony  in  his  word,  and  also  because 
of  his  whole  dealing  with  the  race  of  man,  whether 
as  rebellious  sinners  or  as  stumbling  children.  Such  a 
declaration  not  merely  asserts  that  God  has  lied,  but 
that  he  is  a  liar.  This  denial  does  not  merely  charge 
God  with  telling  lies — it  goes  deeper,  and  charges  false- 
hood against  his  nature. 

To  deny  that  we  have  sinned  is  to  destroy  fellow- 
ship. Those  who  deny  sin  in  themselves,  and  sins 
committed  by  them,  can  have  no  communion  with 
God  about  sin  and  blood.  But  when  we  own  sin 
within  us,  and  confess  the  known  sins  committed  by  us, 
we  are  like-minded  with  God  in  his  hatred  of  sin  and 

D 


36  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

in  the  provisions  of  grace  made  to  meet  it.  Tliis 
is  restoration  and  communion  to  the  believer,  for  it  is 
the  sin  and  the  sins  of  Christians  that  are  under  con- 
sideration here.  It  is  sins  brought  do^vn  to  the 
present  moment  that  the  words  used  here  imply. 

This  denial  of  having  sinned  shows  that  his  word, 
the  living  and  the  written  word,  has  no  place  within  us. 
The  word  of  God  spoken  to  the  soul  becomes  a  living 
person  within,  as  well  as  an  authoritative  power^from 
without.  We  may  abide  in  his  word,  or  his  word  may 
abide  in  us — we  may  abide  in  the  truth,  or  the  truth 
may  abide  in  us.  It  is  the  word  of  the  gospel  that  is 
especially  meant,  for  he  is  here  dealing  with  the  sins  of 
Christians.  The  whole  word  of  the  gospel  is  for  those 
who  are  lost  and  undone  because  of  sin.  He  neither 
could  nor  would  receive  this  word  unless  he  was  con- 
victed of  sin.  To  deny  having  sinned,  even  since  he 
entered  the  brotherhood  of  light,  gives  proof  that  this 
word  of  God  has  no  lodging  place  within  him. 

Thus  we  see  how  two  opposing  lives  and  natures  are 
brought  into  harmony  and  fellowship.  God  in  eternal? 
life  is  revealed  in  his  Son.  His  nature  is  absolute 
holiness.  Man  has  the  principle  of  sin  in  him  and  the 
guilt  of  sin  already  committed  by  him.  For  the  sin  in 
him  he  has  the  blood  of  Christ  with  which  he  is  sprin- 
kled for  a  perpetual  cleansing,  and  for  the  sin  committed 
by  him  he  has  forgiveness  conditional  upon  confession. 
Notwithstanding  the  vast  difference  in  their  essential 
natures,  God  as  he  is  and  man  as  he  is,  have  fellowship 
in  light  by  virtue  of  the  cleansing  blood.     And,  when 


CONFESSION    AND    FORGIVENESS  37 

walking  in  the  light,  this  is  true  without  penitence, 
prayer,  or  confession.  It  is  not  meant  by  this  statement 
that  the  heart  of  the  Christian  does  not  confess  or  say 
back  to  God  the  same  things  that  he  says,  both  about 
the  sin  within  and  also  about  the  cleansing  power  of 
the  blood  which  grace  has  provided.  But  the  cleansing 
' '  from  all  sin  ' '  is  conditioned  upon  the  feet  walking 
the  paths  of  light,  and  not  upon  the  lips  making  confes- 
sion of  the  sin  that  exists  within. 

When,  however,  si7is  have  been  committed,  then  God 
demands  an  honest  confession  before  his  faithfulness  and 
righteousness  can  forgive.  As  soon  as  the  confession  is 
made  God  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive.  It  is  a  frank 
confession  which  secures  a  free  forgiveness.  God,  as  he 
acts,  and  man,  as  he  fails,  still  remain  in  full  fellowship, 
when  the  failing  man  sees  and  confesses  his  sins  as  they 
are  seen  and  witnessed  against  by  God — when  he  says 
the  same  thing  back  to  God  that  God  has  said  to  him 
about  his  sins. 

Our  remorse,  or  the  terrors  of  conscience,  do  not 
measure  the  depth  of  our  guilt  ;  nor  do  these  restore  us 
to  God.  The  death  of  Christ  measured  and  met  the 
whole  of  our  need.  The  person  and  the  blood  of  Christ 
settled,  for  time  and  for  eternity,  the  question  of  our 
sin.  Although  our  standing  before  God  has  been  made 
secure,  yet  our  communion  with  him  can  only  be  main- 
tained when  we  share  his  thoughts  respecting  our  walk 
and  way,  and  own  all,  acknowledge  all,  and  judge  aU  j 
accordinsj  to  the  lio:ht  of  his  truth. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   ADVOCATE   AT    COURT 

We  have  seen  that  the  eternal  life  re- 
'  vealed  in  Jesus  Christ  is  the  ' '  Word 
of  Life."  The  sum  of  what  was  revealed  was  this  : 
God  is  light,  and  ir  him  is  no  darkness  at  all.  This 
revelation  of  the  eternal  life  is  a  revelation  of  the  invis- 
ible God.  As  man  was  originally  in  the  image  of  God, 
there  is  also  a  revelation  of  what  the  true  man  ought 
to  be,  as  well  as  of  what  the  true  God  is.  The  life  of 
Christ,  therefore,  revealed  what  we  ought  to  be  and  do 
as  well  as  what  God  is.  The  sum  and  substance  of  the 
whole  life  of  Christ  was  obedience  and  love.  Now,  if  we 
are  brought  into  fellowship  with  God,  and  with  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ,  these  same  two  features  ought  to  charac- 
terize us — absolute  obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  and 
the  constant  outgoing  of  love  toward  the  need  of  man. 

The  obedience  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  both  in- 
ward and  outward.  There  was  no  sin  in  him,  there  was 
not  even  a  tendency  to  sin.  He  was  inwardly  abso- 
lutely holy.  He  also  resisted  all  temptations  from 
without,  coming  to  him  through  the  devil.  His  whole 
life  was  one  continued  act  of  obedience  to  the  Avill  of  his 
Father.  We,  however,  are  inwardly  sinful  and  our  in- 
most nature  is  opposed  to  God.  This  condition  of  our 
38 


THE    ADVOCATE    AT   COUKT  39 

inmost  being  is  called  sin  ;  and  to  meet  the  need  of  this 
sin  we  have  the  blood  of  Christ.  Outwardly  also  we 
may  commit  sins  even  after  we  have  eternal  life,  and  in 
order  to  be  free  from  righteous  judgment  we  must  make 
our  confession  to  God,  who  is  faithful  and  just  to  for- 
give us  our  sins.  The  blood  cleanses  from  sin,  apart 
from  confession,  repentance,  or  prayer  ;  but  once  sins 
are  committed,  an  honest  confession  is  an  absolute 
necessity  to  forgiveness,  confidence,  and  communion. 

If  we  deny  that  we  have  sin  in  us  we  deceive  our- 
selves, and  ' '  there  is  no  truth  in  us. ' '  If  we  deny  that 
we  have  sinned,  we  make  God  false  and  make  manifest 
the  fact  that  his  word  is  not  in  us.  In  the  one  case  we 
play  false  with  ourselves,  and  prove  that  there  is  no 
truth  in  us.  In  the  other  case  we  play  false  with  God, 
and  prove  that  his  word  is  not  in  us.  The  truth  within 
would  reveal  the  sin  within  ;  the  word  coming  from 
without  would  convince  of  sins  committed.  But  the 
blood  of  Christ  cleanses  so  completely  from  sin,  and  sins 
are  so  completely  put  away  through  confession,  that  the 
believer  stands  as  if  he  had  never  known  the  one  nor 
committed  the  other. 

These  things  are  written  to  keep  us  from  committing 
any  act  of  sin.  "  These  things  I  write  unto  you  that  ye 
sin  not.''  One  of  the  objects  of  the  revelation  of  God 
is  to  free  his  people  from  the  slavery  of  sin.  If  that 
revelation  does  not  succeed  in  making  them  holy  in 
themselves,  it  must  yet  be  seen  that  God  hates  sin  and 
loves  righteousness.  We  are  God's  house,  and  ''holi- 
ness becometh  thy  house,  O  Lord,  forever."     The  fact 


40  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

that  each  sin  must  be  confessed  condemns  the  sin. 
When  God  forgives  and  cleanses  he  does  not  excuse  or 
palliate.  The  freedom  of  forgiveness,  on  the  ground  of 
redemption,  gives  no  license  to  sin.  God  maintains  his 
holiness  while  dealing  with  man  because  he  acts  through 
his  Son.  .  And  this  action  of  God  through  another  is 
the  subject  of  our  present  consideration. 

There  are  three  w^ords  used  in  the  New  Testament  ex- 
pressing Christ's  relationship  to  man  as  the  channel  for 
blessing  from  God.  These  three  words  are  Mediator, 
Intercessor,  and  Advocate.  All  of  the  functions  of 
Christ,  in  this  three-fold  aspect,  are  included  in  his 
priesthood.  One  can  act,  however,  as  mediator,  coming 
between  two  parties  ;  or  as  intercessor,  pleading  with 
one  in  behalf  of  another  ;  or  as  an  advocate,  conferring 
intimately  with  his  client,  and  defending  him  at  court, 
without  any  thought  of  priesthood  or  sacrifice.  Atone- 
ment is  not  necessarily  connected  with  these  three  offices, 
as  such.  In  the  case  of  Christ,  however,  we  know  that 
these  offices  are  based  upon  sacrifice.  He  is  ''the 
Mediator  of  a  better  covenant."  "  The  first,  was  not 
dedicated  without  blood"  of  beasts,  but  Christ  has 
established  the  "better  covenant,"  "by  the  sacrifice  of 
himself. "  As  Intercessor  he  acts  by  virtue  of  his  death, 
resurrection,  and  unchanging  priesthood,  as  seen  in  Ro- 
mans and  Hebrews.  When  we  come  to  his  office  as 
Advocate  it  is  plainly  found  to  rest  upon  the  fact  that 
' '  He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins. ' ' 

On  the  other  hand,  the  fundamental  thought  of 
priesthood  is  sacrifice  and  appeasement  for  some  wrong 


THE    ADVOCATE    AT    COURT  41 

committed.  A  priest  is  first  of  all  a  slayer.  lu  the 
Scriptures,  priesthood  has  a  three-fold  aspect — priest- 
hood of  atonement,  priesthood  of  presentation,  and 
priesthood  of  blessing.  In  the  case  of  Melchizedek  we 
see  the  final  flower  of  priesthood  illustrated,  as  he  comes 
from  the  city  of  peace  bearing  bread  and  wine  in  his 
hands  and  blessing  on  his  lips,  for  the  "friend  of  God," 
on  his  way  from  the  slaughter  of  the  kings  to  the  temp- 
tations pressed  upon  him  by  the  king  of  the  city  of  sin . 
But  we  know  that  no  blessing  can  come  from  God  until 
all  sin  is  put  away  and  the  sinner  is  presented  faultless 
before  his  face.  Like  every  other  truth  revealed  in  the 
book  of  Genesis,  this  too  is  wrapped  up  as  within  a  seed, 
ready  to  germinate  when  a  suitable  soil  is  found.  This 
soil  is  prepared  in  the  book  of  Leviticus.  There  we  see, 
first,  atonement  by  blood  without  the  gate  ;  then  pre- 
sentation within  the  veil,  where  every  name  of  every 
tribe  is  sustained  upon  the  shoulders  and  the  breast  of 
the  priest  ;  and  last  of  all  the  high  priest  comes  out  in 
company  with  Moses  and  blesses  the  people.  Our  priest 
suffered  without  the  gate  and  put  away  sin  by  the  sac- 
rifice of  himself.  He  now  appears  before  the  face  of 
God  for  us.  Because  we  are  presented  faultless  before 
God,  blessings  come  to  us  now  from  God  by  the  unseen 
ministry  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  By  and  by  ''he  shall 
appear  the  second  time  ' '  as  Priest  and  King  for  the 
consummation  of  every  blessing  to  his  church,  to  the 
Jewish  people,  to  the  nations,  and  to  the  world.  He 
will  come  in  the  character  of  both  Priest  and  King — 
king  of  peace   and    king  of  righteousness  as  well   as 


42  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

"Priest  of  the  most  high  God."  AYhen  he  comes 
again  it  will  be  in  manifested  glory  ;  but  in  the  mean- 
time he  has  passed  through  the  heavens  into  ' '  the 
temple  not  made  with  hands,"  Avhere  he  ministers,  un- 
seen, in  our  behalf.  All  of  this  we  accejDt  by  faith,  as 
we  do  every  other  blessing  coming  to  our  hearts  through 
"  the  apostle  and  high  priest  of  our  confession." 

Christ  is  the  Mediator.  "There  is  but  one  medi- 
ator between  God  and  man,  the  man,  Christ  Jesus." 
This  is  the  relation  that  Jesus  Christ  sustains  between 
God  and  the  world.  All  the  blessings  that  come  to 
the  world,  to  man  as  man,  are  through  Jesus  Christ,  as 
the  one  Mediator.  The  fruitful  seasons,  summer  and 
winter,  seed-time  and  harvest,  are  the  "riches  of  his 
goodness"  through  the  mediation  of  Christ.  So  also 
is  the  gift  of  the  w^ord  of  God,  the  existence  of  the 
church,  and  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  to  the  world. 
The  continuation  of  natural  mercies  to  the  world,  and 
also,  of  the  gracious  offers  of  the  gospel  to  a  rebel 
race,  are  all  perpetuated  through  the  mediation  of  the 
man,  Christ  Jesus.  Hence  he  is  the  Mediator  of  the 
new  covenant. 

He  is  also  the  one  through  whom  the  benefits  of  this 
covenant  come  to  unregenerate  men.  God  has  prom- 
ised to  make  a  covenant  with  the  sons  of  Israel,  not 
like  the  one  which  he  made  when  he  brought  them  up 
out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  ' '  This  is  the  covenant  that 
I  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel  after  those  days, 
saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  my  law  into  their  mind  .  .  . 
and  their  sins  and  their  iniquities  will  I  remember  no 


THE    ADVOCATE    AT    COURT  43 

more."  When  Israel  is  finally  established  in  blessing, 
God  will  execute  this  covenant  in  sovereign  mercy, 
"  and  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved."  But  in  the  mean- 
time, while  that  day  is  waiting  for  its  fulfillment,  all 
who  believe  among  every  nation,  anticipate  the  future 
benediction  of  Israel  and  receive  the  benefits  of  this 
covenant.  Every  eternal  provision  of  this  covenant  is 
ministered  now  to  us  who  believe,  whether  Jews  or  Gen- 
tiles, just  as  it  shall  be  ministered  to  the  Jewish  nation 
through  the  one  Mediator  in  that  coming  day.  The 
special  features  of  this  covenant,  *'  I  will  be  their  God 
and  they  shall  be  my  people, ' '  will  be  realized  in  the 
future  history  of  the  Jewish  nation.  But  repentance, 
which  includes  a  renewal  of  the  heart  by  regeneration, 
and  remission  of  sins,  which  implies  that  they  will  be 
remembered  no  more,  together  with  the  covenant  union 
between  God  and  the  believer,  are  now  preached 
among  all  nations  in  that  blessed  name.  This  procla- 
mation of  the  gospel  of  peace,  to  all  men,  is  both  the 
goodness  and  the  grace  of  God,  acting  through  the 
Mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  as  unfolded  now,  and 
as  promised  by  and  by.  Now  it  is  given  to  some  of 
every  nation  who  believe  ;  by  and  by,  to  all  of  the 
Chosen  Nation  "■  that  the  residue  of  men  may  seek 
after  the  Lord."  ' 

Christ  is  also  the  Intercessor.  He  is  not  called  by 
this  name,  but  he  makes  intercession.  The  Greek 
word  translated  intercede  means  to  fall  in  with,  to  hit 
upon,  to  meet  for  purposes  of  conversation,  to  hit  the 

1  Acts  15  :  16-18. 


44  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE   OF   JOHN 

mark,  or  to  hit  in  the  center.  It  is  the  opposite  of  the 
word  translated  to  sin,  which  means  to  miss  the  mark, 
or  not  to  reach  the  desired  end.  The  word  is  used  sev- 
eral times  in  the  New  Testament.  It  is  found  in  the 
eighth  chapter  of  Romans  and  in  the  seventh  of  He- 
brews. In  Romans  it  is  stated  :  ( 1 )  That  Christ  died 
for  us  and,  therefore,  will  not  condemn  us  ;  (2)  he 
was  raised  from  the  dead  as  the  one  whom  God  justi- 
fied and  who  acted  for  us  ;  (3)  he  is  at  the  right 
hand  of  God,  having  gone  there  on  purpose  to  make 
intercession  for  us.  Now,  he  who  has  done  all  this  for 
us,  is  not  the  one  to  condemn  us.  In  Hebrews  we 
have  a  statement  descriptive  of  his  character.  He  is 
"holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  separate  from  sinners,  and 
made  higher  than  the  heavens,"  and  one  who  abides 
forever,  having  an  unchanging  priesthood.  His  priest- 
hood does  not  pass  from  one  person  to  another,  * '  where- 
fore he  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  (clear  through 
to  the  end)  them  that  draw  near  unto  God  through 
him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for 
them."  That  is  to  say,  however  much  they  may  miss 
the  mark  and  fail  down  here  on  earth,  he  is  hitting  the 
mark  and  attaining  for  them  up  yonder  in  heaven. 
AVhatever  may  be  their  failures  here,  he  never  fails  in 
acting  for  them  there.  If  we  are  already  saved,  we 
may  not  need  a  mediator,  for  we  are  brought  face  to 
face  with  God  ;  but  we  do  need  an  intercessor  who  will 
have  due  regard  to  the  claims  of  holiness  while  making 
provision  for  our  shortcomings. 

We  now  come  to  consider  Christ  as  our  Advocate. 


THE    ADVOCATE    AT   COURT  45 

The  same  word  is  used  to  designate  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  is  translated  Comforter.  God  has  another  advo- 
cate now  on  earth,  and  he  is  the  Holy  Spirit.  We 
have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the 
righteous. 

The  words  intercessor  and  advocate  differ  thus  :  The 
former  is  sent  to  meet  and  confer  in  behalf  of  his 
client,  while  the  latter  is  called  near,  to  act  in  the  in- 
terests of  the  one  whom  he  represents.  The  Holy 
Spirit  was  officially  promised  and  appointed  to  act  on 
earth  for  God.  Jesus,  the  Christ,  is  officially  provided 
and  appointed  to  act  for  the  believer  in  heaven.  The 
Holy  Spirit  acts  with  the  individuals  of  the  church  for 
God,  while  Christ  acts  also  for  the  individuals  of  the 
church  with  God.  The  Advocate  represents  the  per- 
sonal aspect  of  Christ  both  with  the  Father  in  heaven 
and  also  with  his  children  on  earth. 

And  this  leads  to  a  distinction  in  the  use  of  the 
three  words,  mediator,  intercessor,  and  advocate.  The 
first  has  exclusive  reference  to  God's  relation  to  the 
whole  world,  apart  from  the  thoughts  of  fatherhood 
and  sonship.  If  there  were  not  a  single  child  of  God 
on  earth,  blessings  would  still  come  to  the  world 
through  the  one  mediator.  But  the  intercession  of 
Christ,  both  in  Romans  and  Hebrews,  is  associated 
with  the  whole  body  of  believers.  In  Romans,  the 
Apostle  Paul  is  speaking  of  all  who  are  in  Christ  Jesus, 
without  condemnation,  groaning  to  be  delivered,  and 
waiting  to  be  conformed  to  the  perfect  image  of  the 
Son  of  God.     In  Hebrews,  it  is  "a  house,' '  a  family — 


46  THE    FIRST   EPISTLE   OF   JOHN 

brought  out  from  bondage  and  on  the  way  to  a  rest, 
expecting  to  reach  a  holy  temple  and  to  reign  in  right- 
eousness. The  relation  of  Christ  to  this  elect  family 
is  that  of  Intercessor,  to  meet  the  evil  consequences  of 
the  flaws,  failures,  and  mistakes  of  the  journey. 

But  when  we  come  to  this  passage,  and  to  the  use  of 
the  word  advocate,  it  is  plain  that  John  is  not  consid- 
ering the  world  at  large,  but  those  who  have  ' '  the 
life. "  ^  It  is  not  even  the  whole  body  of  those  living 
ones,  but  each  individual,  in  his  personal  relation  with 
a  holy  God  and  a  loving  Father.  It  is  each  one  for 
himself,  saying,  walking,  confessing.  Each  one  for 
himself  has  fellowship,  walks  in  the  light,  is  cleansed 
from  the  defilement  of  the  sin  which  the  light  reveals, 
confesses  the  sins  which  the  word  makes  known,  and  is 
forgiven  and  cleansed  from  acts  of  unrighteousness. 
These  people  are  exhorted  to  ' '  sin  not ;  and  if  any  man 
sin.  .  ."  This  reveals  the  sphere  of  the  Advocate.  It 
is  the  individual  soul  in  his  personal  relation  with  God, 
having  his  standing  kept  secure  by  an  Advocate  at  court, 
even  if  he  shall  commit  an  act  of  sin,  in  spite  of  the 
entreaty  given  from  God,  and  notwithstanding  the  effort 
made  by  himself.  The  Mediator  acts  for  the  world, 
the  Intercessor  for  the  church,  and  the  Advocate  for 
the  individual.     Here  the  Advocate  is  acting  for  the 


1  After  a  man's  case  has  been  tried  before  judge  and  jury  and  he  has 
been  condemned,  and  after  the  Supreme  Court  has  refused  to  reverse 
the  judgment  and  the  executive  to  interfere,  he  has  no  use  for  an  ad- 
vocate. This  is  the  condition  of  the  world  now— "condemned  already 
because  he  hath  not  believed  on  the  name  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
God." 


THE   ADVOCATE    AT   COUKT  47 

little  child,  possessing  the  sinless  life  obtained  by  spir- 
itual birth — a  life  struggling  up  toward  a  perfect  devel- 
opment, but  struggling  all  the  time  against  the  inherent 
force  of  the  old  and  sinful  life  that  has  long  had  com- 
mand of  the  entire  nature  and  powers. 

God  continues  to  bestow  "the  riches  of  his  good- 
ness ' '  upon  the  world  through  the  Mediator,  ' '  the 
riches  of  his  grace ' '  upon  the  church  through  the 
Intercessor,  and  the  fullness  of  his  fatherly  affection 
upon  each  individual  child  in  the  whole  household  of 
faith  through  the  Advocate.  The  nearer  to  God  we 
come,  the  richer  the  discovery  we  make.  It  is  riches 
of  goodness,  riches  of  grace,  and  riches  of  affection, 
here  and  no\v,  but  what  remains  to  be  discovered  in 
the  "riches  of  glory"  by  and  by,  are  among  the 
things  which  may  not  now  be  known. 

"Things  that  are  not  now 
Nor  could  be 
Then  shall  be  our  ow^n," 

Thus  the  Advocate  goes  a  step  farther  than  the  In- 
tercessor. We  have  sinned  and  we  are  conscious  of 
our  sin.  We  may  be  overwhelmed  with  it,  as  Peter  was 
when  he  went  out  and  wept.  The  Advocate  is  the  one 
called  to  our  side  at  such  a  time.  We  need  one  who 
will  come  to  us,  or  to  whose  side  we  may  go.  We  need 
one  who,  when  he  sees  our  sorrow,  will  come  and  sym- 
pathize with  us,  take  up  our  case,  comfort  us,  restore 
us,  and  assure  us  of  our  perfect  standing  with  God  in 
spite  of  our  failure  before  man.      Our  communion  is 


48  THE    FIRST   EPISTLE   OF   JOHN 

broken,  our  heart  is  overwhelmed,  but  our  standing  re- 
mains unchanged.  He  is  our  Advocate  now,  before 
God  for  this  purpose,  as  he  was  once  our  Substitute  on 
the  cross  for  another.  He  deals  with  us  personally. 
His  prayer  /o?-  Peter,  and  his  secret  interview  with 
Peter,  ''for  he  appeared  to  Cephas,"  stand  for  the  Ad- 
vocate. What  he  said  to  God,  the  loving  Father,  for 
Peter,  and  what  he  said  to  Peter,  the  weeping  sinner,  for 
God,  we  do  not  know.  But  we  do  know  the  blessed  fact 
of  the  meeting  on  earth  and  the  prayer  in  heaven,  re- 
sulting in  the  blessed  fruit  of  restored  fellowship,  con- 
fidence, and  honorable  service.  And  what  sinning 
child  has  not  experienced  the  same?  ''But  I  have 
prayed  for  thee,"  that  is  the  one  side.  "Go  and  tell 
Peter,"  and  that  is  the  other.  The  perfect  Advocate 
kept  both  the  standing  before  God  unquestioned,  and 
the  service  before  man  undisturbed. 

"If  any  man  sin,'^  means  any  believing  man  ;  for 
the  whole  of  the  Epistle  is  written  to  those  who  have 
already  believed  and  have  life.  If  we  as  believers 
have  committed  sins,  "  ive  have  an  Advocate  ivith  the 
Father."  We  have  the  Advocate  we  need,  in  the 
midst  of  our  failure,  and  he  is  the  Advocate  provided, 
in  the  riches  of  God's  grace.  It  is  when  communion 
is  interrupted  that  Christ  appears  for  us.  God  acts  in 
grace,  in  virtue  of  our  Advocate — in  virtue  of  the  right- 
eousness and  of  the  blood  before  him.  He  acts  to 
bring  us  back  to  communion  by  means  of  repentance. 
Thus  Christ  prayed  for  Peter  before  he  committed  tlie 
sin,  and  at  the  given  moment  he  looked  upon  him,  and 


THE    ADVOCATE    AT   COURT  49 

Peter  went  out  and  wept  bitterly.  Christ  did  not  pray 
because  Peter  repented,  but  Peter  repented  because 
Christ  prayed. 

When  Christ  was  upon  earth  his  eye  was  upon  the 
Father,  although  he  himself  was  in  the  midst  of  us. 
He  was  always  intent  upon  doing  the  will  of  the  Father. 
Now  that  he  is  in  heaven  his  eye  is  upon  us  down  here, 
although  he  is  before  the  Father's  face.  He  is  con- 
stantly watching  over  his  sheep  and  meeting  their  need. 
He  never  forgets  them. 

Notice,  John  does  not  say  if  any  man  repent,  or  weep, 
or  give  up  his  sins,  he  has  an  Advocate  ;  but  ' '  if  any 
man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father."  It 
does  not  mean  that  if  any  man  is  in  a  sinful  state  he 
has  an  Advocate  with  the  Father.  A  Christian  is  not 
in  a  sinful  state.  He  is  delivered  from  that  condition 
by  faith  in  Christ,  and  by  the  blood  of  the  cross.  But 
the  Christian  may  be  guilty  of  a  sinful  act,  or  of  a 
number  of  sinful  acts,  after  he  is  thus  delivered  ;  never- 
theless he  still  has  this  Advocate. 

The  Advocate  is  ' '  wdth  the  Father. ' '  God  is  still 
our  Father,  and  we  are  still  his  children,  in  spite  of 
the  acts  of  sin  w^hich  we  may  commit.  An  act  of  sin 
does  not  break  the  relationship  between  us.  In  time 
the  practice  of  sin  must  destroy  the  conscious  commun- 
ion of  the  believer.  There  can  be  no  unhindered 
communion  when  there  is  unconfessed  sin.  If  a  child 
sins  against  a  parent,  never,  until  that  sin  is  confessed, 
can  there  be  a  frank,  free,  open  communication  between 
the  parent  and  the  child.     But  the  parent's  love  is  un- 


60  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

changed  amid  all  the  ingratitude  and  rebellion  of  the 
child.  And  so  the  love  of  God  is  unchanged  to^Yard 
us  in  the  midst  of  all  our  failures. 

The  Advocate  that  we  have  with  the  Father  is  "  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous  One.''  God  saw  no  iniquity  in 
Jacob  because  of  the  blood  on  the  mercy-seat.^  He 
sees  no  sin  in  us  because  of  the  Advocate,  who  has 
entered  into  heaven  by  his  own  blood.  Our  standing 
and  our  communion  are  both  maintained  in  him  before 
the  Father.  Having  once  undertaken  our  cause,  he 
never  relinquishes  the  trust.  Once  taken  up,  never 
given  up.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  our  course 
he  maintains  our  standing.  There  is  no  limit  to  his 
power,  as  there  is  none  to  his  love. 

''All  things  on  earth  shall  pass  away, 
But  the  love  of  God  abides  for  aye." 

Now  this  advocacy  of  Christ,  like  his  mediation  and 
intercession,  is  based  upon  the  atonement  made  upon 
the  cross.  The  priest  under  the  Old  Testament  dispen- 
sation entered  into  the  holy  place  after  the  offering  had 
been  made,  but  not  before.  Christ,  in  interceding  for 
us,  bases  his  plea  entirely  and  always  upon  what  he  has 
accomplished  upon  the  cross.  He  never  entered  upon 
the  work  of  the  priesthood  until  he  had  ' '  made  one 
sacrifice  for  sins  forever."  His  person  and  his  work 
are  the  grounds  of  his  advocacy.  He  is  the  righteous 
one.  This  was  symbolized  by  the  incense  and  blood 
borne  by  the  high  priest  as  he  entered  into  the  most 

1  Num.  23  :  21. 


THE    ADVOCATE    AT   COURT  51 

holy  place  on  the  day  of  atonement.  They  represented 
the  person  and  the  work  of  Christ.  As  these  are  in- 
finitely precious  to  God,  and  as  we  are  identified  with 
them,  our  case  can  never  be  lost  before  the  court  of 
heaven.  "  He  is  the  propitiation,"  and  because  he  is 
the  propitiation  he  can  act  as  the  Advocate  with  assur- 
ance of  success. 

Christ  died  for  the  sin  of  the  whole  world  as  Mediator, 
and  all  the  world  may  have  the  benefit  of  his  death. 
But  he  is  the  Advocate  for  believers  only.  He  is  both 
an  offering  and  an  offerer.  He  first  made  the  offering 
of  himself,  "even  as  Christ  gave  himself  for  us." 
And  now  in  heaven,  basing  his  plea  upon  the  merits  of 
that  offering,  he  acts  as  Advocate  for  his  brethren. 

It  is  scriptural  to  say  that  Jesus  seeks  the  w^orld  ;  but 
he  keeps  the  saints.  It  is  not  scriptural  to  say  that  he 
prays  for  the  world.  He  is  praying  to  the  world  that 
men  may  receive  the  Father's  love,  but  not  for  the 
world  that  the  Father  may  give  his  love.  He  is  pray- 
ing to  the  Father  that  the  saints  may  be  kept  in  his 
love  and  forgiven  for  their  ingratitude  and  their  sins. 
God  loves  the  world,  not  because  Jesus  died  ;  the 
death  of  Christ  is  the  outgrowth  of  God's  love.  Christ 
is  the  gift,  and  not  the  price,  of  the  Father's  love. 

There  is  only  one  place  where  it  might  seem  that 
Jesus  makes  a  plea  for  the  Avorld,  and  that  was  at  his 
crucifixion.  But  in  addition  to  the  fact  that  the  Jews 
were  professedly  of  tlie  family  of  faith,  it  is  evident  that 
Jesus  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  hour  through  which 
he  was  passing  at  that  time.      "  He  is  the  propitiation 


52  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

for  our  sins;  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the  whole 
world, ' '  This  was  the  world-wide  work  he  was  to  bring 
to  perfection  on  the  cross.  Being  in  sympathy  with 
the  infinite  purpose  of  that  hour,  he  begged  forgive- 
ness for  those  who  were  nailing  him  to  the  tree. 

But  the  whole  attitude  of  God  toward  the  world  is 
one  of  benevolence,  love,  and  a  loving  endeavor  to  save 
and  bless.  Jesus  himself  was  the  revelation  of  the 
Father's  heart  when  he  declared  that  the  Son  of  Man 
came  to  seek  and  save  the  lost.  In  the  whole  of  the 
Scriptures  the  unsaved  world  is  never  once  entreated  to 
seek  after  God  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  God  is  repre- 
sented as  seeking  the  world.  When  in  the  world  there 
was  ''  none  that  seeketh  after  God,"  then  God  in  mercy 
came  to  seek  for  man.  The  exhortation  in  the  prophet 
to  "  seek  the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found, "  and  similar 
sayings  in  the  Old  Testament,  are  all  addressed  to  Israel, 
a  nation  which  stood  in  covenant  relation  to  God.  Such 
exhortations  never  came  to  the  Gentile  nations.  Paul 
says,  ' '  We  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God 
did  beseech  by  us  :  we  pray  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye 
reconciled  to  God."  Christ  came  out  visibly  to  be- 
seech men  to  accept  the  reconciliation  and  to  submit 
to  God.  Since  he  left  the  world,  the  church  keeps 
up  the  entreaty.  It  is  God's  supplication  to  the  world 
through  us.  When  he  is  thus  beseeching  men  to  accept 
the  settlement  of  the  question  of  sin,  as  made  on  the 
cross,  there  is  no  need  of  any  one  interceding  with  him. 
He  prays  to  men,  and  is  not  prayed  to  for  men. 

*'  Ask,  and  it   shall    be   given  you  ;    seek,  and  ye 


THE    ADVOCATE    AT    COURT  53 

shall  find  ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you," 
and  similar  passages  in  the  New  Testament,  are  encour- 
agements and  promises  made  to  the  "  disciples  "  of  our 
Lord/  When  once  we  enter  the  school  of  Christ,  and 
by  the  entrance  become  *  *  members  of  the  household  of 
God,"  then,  such  are  our  privileges,  that  whatsoever 
we  ask  in  the  Name  is  given  unto  us.  It  is  not  here 
taught  that  unregenerate  men  may  not  pray.  Far  be 
that  from  our  thoughts.  What  is  here  maintained  is 
that  God's  habitual  attitude  toward  a  lost  world  is  one 
of  benevolence,  beneficence,  and  prayerful  longing  for 
its  return  to  the  bosom  of  his  love.  He  does  not  wait 
to  be  wakened  out  of  the  sleep  of  indifference  by  the 
cry  of  his  creatures.  His  love  is  so  intense  that  any 
one  becoming  possessed  of  its  current  is  swept  along 
with  such  force  that  he  is  exposed  to  the  charge  of  in- 
sanity.^ He  is  like  the  searching  woman  toward  the 
silver,  the  seeking  shepherd  toward  the  lost  sheep,  and 
the  loving  father  waiting  to  greet  the  returning  sinner. 
When  the  seats  remain  empty  at  the  banquet,  he  sends 
out  his  servants  quickly  to  "  compel  "  men  to  come  in. 
He  is  the  loving,  giving,  self-sacrificing  God,  beseech- 
ing a  besotted  world  to  arouse  from  its  slumber  of 
death. 

The  whole  of  Koman  Catholic,  and  also  much  of 
Protestant,  teaching  concerning  the  mediatorial  work  of 
Christ  for  the  living  and  for  the  dead,  is  unscriptural. 
When  they  add  the  intercession  of  glorified  saints,  and 
especially  that  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  it  becomes  a  gross 

1  Matt.  5:1.  2  2  Cor.  5  :  13-15. 


54  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

misrepresentation  of  the  truth,  and  a  caricature  of  God 
himself.  It  would  seem  to  teach  that  the  eternal  God 
is  an  austere,  severe,  unloving,  and  unforgiving  God. 
But  an  appeal  can  be  made  to  the  tenderness  of  a 
mother's  heart  in  the  blessed  Virgin.  She  can  reach 
the  heart  of  her  Son,  and  the  Son  can  approach  the 
Father,  and  thus  the  unfeeling  hardness  of  his  heart  can 
be  overcome.  It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  here  of  the 
impossibility  of  a  mere  human  being,  even  although  it 
be  the  mother  of  our  Lord,  being  in  every  place,  or  in 
any  place,  for  that  matter,  to  hear  our  prayers.  It  is 
the  horrible  misrepresentation  of  the  character  of  God 
against  which  this  protest  is  made.  God  is  not  a  mon- 
ster to  be  overcome  in  his  malignant  purpose  by  the 
circuitous  route  of  one  intercessor  or  many  interces- 
sors. He  is  a  God  of  love,  himself  beseeching  men  to 
accept  his  Son,  so  that  his  benevolent  purpose  of  grace 
may  be  accomplished  in  their  salvation  and  glorification. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  for  sin  within  us  we  have  the 
blood,  cleansing  moment  by  moment  ;  for  restoration  to 
communion,  confession  to  God  and  forgiveness  from 
him  ;  and  for  keeping  our  standing  unquestioned  in 
heaven,  the  righteous  person  of  our  Lord.  For  the 
sin  in  the  inmost  being  of  our  hearts  we  have  the  sanc- 
tifying blood,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  our  place  in 
the  "  holy  of  holies  "  before  the  face  of  God,  we  have 
the  righteous  Advocate.  These  things,  according  to 
the  riches  of  grace,  remain  untouched  by  any  act  of 
ours.  Everything,  from  the  court  of  God  to  the  heart 
of  man,  is  established  in  righteousness  forever.     But 


THE    ADVOCATE    AT    COURT  55 

for  communion,  for  a  sharing  of  the  thoughts,  feelings, 
and  counsels  of  God,  we  must  judge  sin  as  he  judges  it, 
and  unhesitatingly  say  the  same  thing  about  it  that  he 
says.  In  other  words,  we  must  confess  our  sins,  must 
speak  back  to  God  his  own  words  concerning  their 
heinousness.  And  all  this  cleansing  on  earth,  standing 
in  heaven,  and  communion  of  soul  between  heaven  and 
earth,  is  based  upon  Christ's  propitiation  on  the  cross 
for  the  world. 

The  cross  and  mediatorship  are  for  the  world.  Me- 
diatorship  opens  the  way  for  mercy  to  the  whole  race, 
intercession  secures  the  salvation  of  all  who  have  ac- 
cepted the  mercy,  and  advocacy  makes  certain  to  them 
their  individual  standing.  The  Cross  is  for  the  world. 
The  Mediator  is  for  the  world.  The  Intercessor  is  for 
the  church.  The  Advocate  is  for  me — "  if  any  man 
sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father." 

**  Did  we  in  our  own  strength  confide, 
Our  striving  would  be  losing  ; 
Were  not  the  right  man  on  our  side, 
The  man  of  God's  own  choosing. 
Dost  ask  who  this  may  be  ? 
Christ  Jesus,  it  is  he, 
Lord  Sabaoth  his  name, 
From  age  to  age  the  same, 
And  he  must  win  the  battle." 

— Luther. 


CHAPTER  V 

SAYING   AND    DOING,    OR    PROFESSION    AND    CONDUCT 

The  divisions  of  both  chapter  and 
paragraph  are  unfortunate  here.  The 
first  chapter  ought  to  end  with  the  second  verse  of  the 
second  chapter.  Then  there  ought  to  be  no  break  in 
the  paragraph  from  that  point  until  the  end  of  the 
eleventh  verse. 

The  whole  of  this  division  is  about  the  responsibility 
growing  out  of  privilege.  Is  this  book  built  upon  the 
mold  of  the  tabernacle  ?  If  it  is,  then  we  have  been 
inside  the  veil,  where  God  is  revealed  as  light,  and 
where  the  provisions  of  his  grace,  through  the  blood  of 
Christ  on  the  mercy -seat,  have  been  made  known.  We 
have  learned  what  God  is  tons,  "grace,  mercy,  and 
peace  from  God,"  as  if  we  stood  in  the  Most  Holy 
Place.  We  shall  now  withdraw  and  go  outside  of  the 
veil,  to  consider  those  truths  made  known  by  the  types 
of  the  Holy  Place. 

John  has  in  mind  what  Christ  was  and  is  to  God  in 
our  behalf.  He  was  perfect  in  character,  as  symbolized 
in  the  bread,  covered  with  incense  ;  and  perfect  in  light, 
as  indicated  by  the  lamp-stand  filling  the  court  with  a 
sevenfold  light.  This  inward  perfection,  having  a  per- 
fect manifestation,  is  the  manifested  God — "the  life 
56 


SAYING    AND    DOING  57 

was  the  light  of  iiieu."  But  we  are  supposed  to  know 
him  who  has  thus  beeu  revealed,  aud  to  be  partakers  of 
the  life  of  the  Cue  who  has  revealed  him.  He  now 
proceeds  to  consider  how  we  may  perceive  that  Ave 
know  him,  aud  also  how  this  assurance  leads  to  a  con- 
fession aud  to  a  character  corresponding  to  our  posi- 
tion. That  character,  as  we  shall  see,  involves  our 
repeating  the  very  life  and  light  of  Christ,  as  set  forth 
in  the  symbolism  of  the  Holy  Place  of  the  tabernacle. 

Our  hrst  business  as  Christians  is  to  enter  into  the 
enjoyment  of  God  himself  as  made  known  in  the  Son, 
and  not  to  worry  about  whether  we  are  making  suitable 
returns  for  the  saving  grace  ministered  to  us.  This  is 
fellowship.  Our  next  business  is  to  know  what  he  is 
from  the  light  that  shines  in  him.  Because  of  the 
cleansing  blood  we  may  know  this  calndy,  thankfully, 
and  joyfully.  Then  comes  our  obligation  to  measure 
ourselves  by  what  he  is,  and  to  be  imitators  of  his  ways. 
This  is  our  walk. 

We  come  then  to  the  confession  of  fellowship  and 
knowledge,  and  to  the  responsibilities  that  grow  out  of 
it.  This  confession  is  made  in  three  forms  :  confession 
of  knowledge,  confession  of  abiding  in  him,  and  con- 
fession of  fellowship  in  light.  As  "  know  "  is  used  in 
its  highest  sense,  to  be  one  with,  it  is  a  confession  of 
union  with  God,  with  his  life  and  with  his  light — the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  implied  but  not 
named.  The  ivalk  that  should  grow  out  of  this  confes- 
sion is  here  unfolded.  As  duty  is  the  reverse  side  of 
doctrine,  so  conduct  is  the  revei*se  side  of  confession. 


05  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

First,  there  is  the  assertion  of  knowledge.  ''In 
this  we  know  that  we  know  him,  if  we  keep  his  com- 
mandments.'' In  this  thing  we  come  to  understand 
that  we  have  come  to  understand  him.  The  sign  of 
knowledge  is  obedience,  and  when  we  see  the  sign  we 
may  draw  our  conclusions  respecting  the  fact.  If  the 
relation  is  real  the  obedience  will  be  certain.  We  have 
come  to  know  that  our  experience  has  been  a  true  one  ; 
and  our  thought  that  we  knew  God  has  been  confirmed 
in  habitually  keeping  his  commandments.  It  is  the 
knowledge  coming  from  experience  and  not  from  intui- 
tion. This  knowledge  is  often  spoken  of  in  John's 
Gospel  in  the  same  sense  in  which  we  use  the  word  in 
ordinary  conversation.  We  are  often  asked,  "  Do  you 
know  that  man?"  and  what  is  implied  is  ''Do  you 
think  rightly  about  him?"  "Do  you  think  of  him 
exactly  as  he  deserves,  or  better  or  worse  than  he  de- 
serves?" For  many  obvious  reasons  it  is  difficult  to 
have  an  accurate  knowledge  of  men,  but  it  is  not  so  of 
God.  We  may  know  God  better  than  any  of  our 
fellow -men.  Men  may  play  a  part,  may  change,  may 
not  be  in  a  position  to  show  their  real  character  ;  but 
God,  never. 

Much  difference  of  opinion  prevails  as  to  whether  it  is 
the  Father  or  the  Son  who  is  meant  here.  The  difficulty 
vanishes  when  we  remember  that  John  has  always  in 
mind  the  unseen  essence  of  the  divine  Being  revealed 
to  his  understanding.  The  Revealer  and  the  Revealed 
are  one,  in  the  mind  of  the  writer.  But  whether  John 
has  under  consideration  one  or  another  aspect  of  '  *  that 


SAYING    AND    DOING  59 

which  was  from  the  beginning ' '  is  learned  from  the 
context  rather  than  from  the  usage  of  his  language. 
Here  he  evidently  refers  to  the  Father  as  revealed  to  us 
through  the  Son — to  the  One  to  whom  we  turn  as  to 
God. 

To  have  a  knowledge  of  a  person  involves  sympathy. 
There  can  be  no  accurate  knowledge  without  it,  for 
there  must  be  a  kindly  response  in  the  one  to  what  is 
discovered  in  the  other.  To  know  God  we  must  be  in 
vital  fellowship  with  him,  and  we  must  have  a  disposi- 
tion to  be  conformed  to  his  nature.  To  be  known  of 
God,  to  be  the  object  of  his  knowledge,  also  implies  a 
harmony  established  between  him  and  us.  From  John's 
point  of  view  this  comes  through  the  life  received  from 
God,  while  Paul  emphasizes  the  life  poured  out  in  the 
blood  of  Christ,  that  w^e  might  receive  life  within. 

A  child  comes  to  know  its  father  by  the  rules  which 
he  lays  down  to  guide  its  conduct.  They  are  often 
against  the  natural  inclination  of  the  child.  But  the 
child  has  confidence  that  the  rules  are  just.  The  rules 
are  obeyed,  and  by  degrees  it  is  learned  that  the  father 
is  wise  in  drawing  such  lines.  In  after  years  the  child 
can  look  back  and  understand  the  principles  that  guided 
the  father's  conduct,  and  then  knows  what  kind  of  a 
man  he  was.  Just  so,  and  much  more  perfectly,  may 
we  know  God.  There  is  uncertainty,  caprice,  and  the 
mixture  of  right  and  wrong  in  man,  and  so  we  are  often 
bewildered  by  his  inconsistencies  in  our  efforts  to  un- 
derstand him.  But  God  is  always  the  same,  and  we 
come    to    know    him  if  we   keep    his   commandments. 


60  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

This  is  more  than  merely  obeymg  them.  It  is  a  careful 
observation  of  them.  It  implies  both  remembering 
and  fulfilling  a  request  as  well  as  merely  obeying  a 
command.  It  is  a  service  of  the  S23irit  and  not  of  the 
letter,  an  observance  of  commands  and  not  obedience 
to  laws.  John  never  uses  the  term  law  in  speaking  of 
our  relation  to  God  the  Father.  That  belongs  to 
citizens  but  not  to  children.  If  God's  commandments 
are  kept,  thought  about,  and  cherished,  as  the  com- 
mandments of  a  father,  then  wt  shall  gain  a  knowledge 
of  him  that  can  be  obtained  in  no  other  way. 

The  Jews,  even  in  the  relation  of  servants,  would 
learn  much  about  God  by  observing  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments. ' '  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God  who  brought 
thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  Thou  shalt  have  no 
other  gods  before  me."  Here  he  learns  that  God  is  a 
deliverer  of  slaves  from  a  merciless  tyrant  and  that  he 
wishes  to  be  remembered  and  worshij^ed  as  such  a  God. 
"  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any  graven  image  " 
would  teach  the  Jew  that  God  was  his  Creator  and 
that  he  could  not  create  his  God.  By  "  the  image  of 
anything  in  heaven  or  on  earth,"  he  would  learn  that 
God  is  more  glorious  than  any  material  thing.  He  is 
jealous  that  the  hearts  of  his  people  should  be  given  to 
nothing  lower  than  himself.  * '  Thou  shalt  not  take 
the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain,"  would  show 
the  Israelite  that  he  was  in  the  presence  of  a  deliverer 
greater  than  anything  he  could  see,  that  this  deliverer 
was  a  living  person,  and  that,  as  he  had  taken  that  name 
upon  him,  he  ought  not  to  utter  it  in  a  profane  or  care- 


SAYING    AND    DOING  61 

less  manner,  nor  behave  in  a  way  unworthy  of  this 
honor.  The  remembrance  of  the  Sabbath  day  w^oulcl 
teach  him  both  to  work  and  to  rest,  because  God 
worked  and  rested,  for  the  commandment  is  nothing 
apart  from  the  reason  for  its  observance.  "Honour 
thy  father  and  thy  mother,"  w^ould  teach  him  to  re- 
gard them  in  that  relation,  and  to  have  a  conscious- 
ness of  the  bond  that  unites  parent  and  child.  Not  to 
kill,  would  teach  him  that  God  is  the  author  of  life, 
that  life  is  a  sacred  thing,  and  is  as  sacred  in  another 
as  it  is  in  one's  self  and  therefore  must  not  be  destroyed. 
Not  to  commit  adultery,  would  teach  him  not  merely 
to  abstain  from  pollution  for  fear  of  exposure  or  dis- 
grace— that  Avould  not  be  keeping  the  commandment. 
How  can  I  sin  against  God  ?  would  be  the  thought. 
Hence  he  would  learn  that  God  is  the  author  of  w^edlock 
and  of  its  purity  and  that  he  will  protect  the  sacredness 
of  that  union.  Not  to  steal,  would  teach  him  that  God 
maintains  the  rights  of  one  as  well  as  of  another. 
This  law  should  be  observed  because  it  is  God's  law, 
and  he  could  be  trusted  to  sustain  men's  rights  upon 
the  earth.  Not  to  bear  false  witness,  would  teach  the 
Jew  that  God  is  a  God  of  truth,  and  a  hater  of  every 
false  way  and  word.  He  is  j)ledged  to  lay  bare  and  to 
destroy  lies.  From  the  command  that  nothing  should 
be  coveted,  he  would  learn  that  God  is  an  unselfish  and 
non-coveting  being,  and  he  therefore  does  not  wish  us 
to  covet  that  which  is  not  our  own. 

Thus,  step  by  step,  would  the  Jew  learn  the  charac- 
ter of  God  by  observing  his  commandments.     And  thus 


62  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

do  we  also  learn.  Their  knowledge  grew  out  of  God's 
dealings  with  a  nation,  but  ours  out  of  his  dealings 
Avith  the  individual.  Obedience,  therefore,  leads  to 
spiritual  knowledge.  "  If  any  man  will  do  his  will  he 
shall  know  of  the  doctrine."  "  AVe  do  know  that  we 
know  him,  if  we  keep  his  commandments."  We  only 
know  him  in  that  way.  That  is  the  only  way  in  which 
a  knowledge  of  God  can  be  obtained.  As  the  ear  is 
the  organ  of  sound,  the  eye  of  color,  and  the  palate  of 
flavor,  so  a  submissive  heart  and  an  obedient  walk  are 
the  channels  to  a  knowledge  of  God. 

Now,  with  this  knowledge  comes  its  confession. 
"He  that  saith  I  know  him.'''  AYe  have  this  word 
"  saith  "  used  three  times  in  these  verses.  "  He  that 
saith  I  know  him,"  "  He  that  saith  he  abideth  in 
him,"  ''  He  that  saith  he  is  in  the  light."  We  have 
thus  a  confession  and  a  sign  of  knowledge,  a  confession 
and  a  sign  of  position,  a  confession  and  a  sign  of 
fellowship  in  light,  in  this  part  of  the  Ej^istle. 

Confession  is  everywhere  enjoined  in  the  word  of 
God.  It  follows  relationship  with  God,  as  naturally 
as  the  parched  lip  follows  thirst,  as  a  plant  grows  out 
of  the  germinating  seed,  as  the  brightness  of  buds  and 
leaves  follow  a  shower.  The  rose  that  says,  *  *  I  have 
just  been  washed  in  the  shower  "  ought  to  look  bright 
and  fresh.  So  the  man  who  says,  '*I  know  him" 
ought  to  keep  his  commandments.  Since  the  only 
way  to  know  him  is  by  obedience,  it  follows  that,  if  a 
man  is  living  in  disobedience,  his  confession  is  false, 
for  he   could    not   get  to    know   God    except  through 


SAYING    AND    DOING  63 

obedience.  He  is  a  liar,  false  himself,  and  of  course 
the  truth  cannot  find  any  place  in  him.  If  we  say  we 
have  fellowship  with  him,  and  still  walk  in  darkness, 
we  are  telling  a  falsehood.^  But  he  who  professes  to 
know  God  and  does  not  keep  his  commandments  makes 
himself  false.  To  deny  that  we  have  committed  sin  is 
to  assume  an  attitude  toward  God  which,  if  true,  makes 
him  a  liar.  On  the  other  hand,  to  say  that  we  know 
God,  while  we  still  continue  to  disregard  his  instruc- 
tions to  his  children,  shows  that  we  ourselves  are  false  ; 
we  more  than  lie,  we  are  liars.  Obedience  precedes 
knowledge  as  the  sun  does  the  dawning  of  the  day. 
Believe  me,  there  is  no  way  of  knowing  God  but  the 
common  practice  of  obedience  in  daily  life. 

But  if  John  uses  the  word  "  know  "  here  in  its  high- 
est sense,  to  be  one  with,  then  how  can  a  man  be 
one  with  God,  and  yet  disregard  his  commandments  ? 
Hence  to  know  God  is  to  be  in  vital  fellowship  with 
him,  to  fulfill  the  relationship  that  we  sustain,  to  be  in 
harmony  with  him  in  thought,  in  feeling,  and  in  choice. 

The  word  keep,  used  here  (j-qpiu) — tereo^,  means  a 
Avatchful  heed  to  an  object,  growing  out  of  a  loving 
attachment.  It  is  the  spirit,  rather  than  the  letter,  of 
obedience.  It  is  not  merely  obeying  a  command-,  but 
a  loving  observance  of  the  mind  and  will  of  an  ever- 
present  person.  The  man  who  says  he  knows  the 
mind  and  character  of  this  living  Being,  who  says  he  is 
one  with  him,  and  yet  does  not  take  heed  to  his  com- 
mandments, that  man's  whole  character  is  false,  and 

1 1  John  1  :  6. 


64  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

the  truth  is  not  in  him  regulating  his  thoughts  and 
actions.  When  the  truth  is  in  a  man,  it  governs  him  ; 
when  a  man  is  in  the  truth,  he  is  limited  by  it — it  reg- 
ulates his  thought  and  actions.  When  the  truth  is  in  a 
man,  it  becomes  the  governing  principle  of  his  life 
from  ivithiii ;  when  a  man  is  in  the  truth,  it  becomes  the 
controlling  power  of  his  life  from  ivithout — he  moves 
within  its  sphere  and  is  limited  by  its  teaching.  Truth 
in  the  heart  will  always  lead  to  obedience  in  the  life. 

On  the  other  hand,  whosoever  keeps  the  word  of 
God  is  not  only  true  because  having  the  truth  in  him, 
but  in  him  also  is  the  love  of  God  perfected.  This  is 
not  merely  a  care  for  the  "  thou  shalts  "  and  the  "  thou 
shalt  nots  "  of  the  Bible,  but  for  the  whole  word  of 
God,  whether  in  writing  or  in  a  person,  in  the  Scriptures 
or  in  Christ.  This  implies,  first  of  all,  an  adjustment 
of  our  whole  being  to  God  as  revealed  in  his  Son,  to 
"know  thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ 
whom  thou  hast  sent."  Now,  every  one  w^ho  has  a 
tender  regard  for  the  word  of  God,  as  thus  indicated  by 
John,  has  the  love  of  God,  or  the  whole  benevolent 
purpose  of  God,  brought  to  perfection  in  him.  This  he 
has  by  virtue  of  his  union  with  the  Father  and  with 
the  Son,  and  his  adjustment  and  submission  and  obedi- 
ence to  the  whole  utterance  of  God  toward  man. 

The  love  which  God  feels  toward  and  imparts  to  the 
man  becomes  an  active  and  divine  power  in  the  man's 
life.  The  whole  revelation  of  God  is  his  character 
made  known.  This  character  is  light  and  love.  This 
light  and  love  reach  their  end  and  aim  in  the  man  who 


SAYING    AND    DOING  65 

tenderly  keej^s  himself  in  harmony  with  the  word,  that 
is,  with  the  character  of  God.  In  observing  the  word 
of  God  the  love  of  God  is  perfected.  The  word  has 
a  wider  sense  than  commandment.  Commandments  are 
outward,  the  word  is  both  outward  and  inward.  If  we 
keep  this  word,  so  that  the  scope  and  meaning  of  the 
life  wdiich  that  word  expresses  is  realized,  then  the  love 
of  God  reaches  its  goal — has  attained  perfection. 

Next  we  have  the  second  confession  and  the  sign  that 
follows,  ^^  He  that  saith  he  abideth  in  him.^^  The 
Christian  life,  in  its  central  depth  of  fellowship  with  God 
in  Jesus  Christ,  is  here  under  consideration.  It  is,  in 
the  spiritual  realm,  what  Paul's  assertion  respecting  the 
physical  life  is.  ''  In  him  we  live  and  move  and  have 
our  being. "  ^  In  spiritual  life  the  source,  the  sphere, 
and  the  fruit  of  our  life  are  in  Christ.  Evidently  this 
is  John's  meaning  here.  The  Revealer  and  the  Re- 
vealed are  one  to  him,  and  the  transition  from  the  one 
to  the  other  is  simple  and  natural.  Paul  seldom  speaks 
of  our  being  in  the  Father,  and  John  only  when  we  are 
there  by  virtue  of  our  being  in  Christ  the  Son. 

The  believer  is  in  Christ  and  Christ  is  in  the  believer, 
and  these  are  the  two  keywords  to  the  whole  Bible. 
We  are  chosen,  loved,  accepted,  crucified,  raised,  and 
seated  in  heavenly  places  in  him.  We  are  taken  out  of 
ourselves  and  put  down  in  Christ.  This  is  Paul's  view, 
and  in  essence  it  is  the  same  as  that  of  John,  who  joins 
us  to  Christ  in  the  union  of  life,  and  we  are  in  him  as 
the  branch  is  in  the  vine. 

1  Acts  17  :  28. 


66  THE    FIEST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

Now  if  we  are  living  in  Christ,  there  ought  to  be  a 
personal  confession  of  it,  and  immediately  an  obligation 
will  grow  out  of  that  confession.  The  walk  of  the 
Christian  ought  to  be  as  he  walked — in  every  particular 
as  he  walked.  In  the  Gospel  of  John  we  see  the  char- 
acteristics of  eternal  life  in  Christ.  In  the  Epistle  the 
Holy  Spirit  sets  forth  the  very  same  characteristics 
when  the  life  is  possessed  by  us.  It  must  have  the 
same  fruit,  for  it  is  his  own  life  implanted  in  us,  having 
the  same  characteristics  in  us  as  in  him.  He  stands  out 
in  the  full  perfection  of  humanity,  and  we  ought  to  be 
repetitions  of  him.  I  do  not  say  imitators,  for  we  are 
reproductions  of  the  Christ-life  in  the  flesh,  ' '  delivered 
unto  death  for  Jesus'  sake,  that  the  life  also  of  Jesus 
might  be  made  manifest  in  our  mortal  flesh."  The 
pattern  of  Christ  given  in  the  Bible  is  always  one  of 
sacrifice,  humiliation,  and  suflfering.  Every  pilgrim  in 
time  has  laid  upon  him,  by  virtue  of  his  union  with 
Christ,  an  obligation  to  walk  even  as  the  great  Pilgrim 
of  eternity  walked. 

We  are  to  obey  God  as  Jesus  obeyed  him  ;  that 
is,  on  the  same  principles  as  those  on  which  he  obeyed 
the  Father's  will.  To  do  the  will  of  God  was  his  meat 
and  drink.  It  was  not  obedience  in  order  to  obtain 
life  in  him,  nor  is  it  so  in  us.  Christ  is  the  life,  and 
this  life  is  imparted  to  us.  The  words  and  the  ways  of 
Jesus  were  the  expression  of  that  life  in  all  of  its  perfec- 
tion, and  they  direct  and  guide  that  life  in  us.  Obedi- 
ence was  the  one  controlling  condition  of  his  being. 
Obedience  should  be  the  same  prevailing  force  in  us. 


SAYING    AND    DOING  67 

As  the  body  has  motions  so  the  spirit  has  motions. 
It  has  thoughts,  wishes,  volitions.  These  may  move 
downward,  and  the  things  of  the  earth  over  which  we 
ought  to  have  so  much  control  may  control  us,  or  these 
emotions  of  the  spirit  may  be  directed  upward.  Our 
thoughts,  wishes,  and  impulses  may  go  toward  God.  In 
either  case  all  these  exercises  of  soul  may  be  described 
as  a  walk,  and  such  was  the  walk  of  Christ.  He  per- 
petually acknowledged,  obeyed,  and  sought  to  please 
the  Father.  We  should  walk  as  he  walked,  constantly 
abiding  in  God,  constantly  loving  men,  and  persistently 
continuing  in  this  chosen  path.  The  walk  and  work  of 
Christ  are  summed  up  in  the  one  word  love.  Accord- 
ingly, to  walk  as  he  walked  resolves  itself  into  broth- 
erly love. 

The  apparent  contradiction  in  verses  seven  and  eight 
can  be  harmonized  by  seeing  that  John  is  impressing 
upon  Christians  to  whom  he  writes  no  novelty,  but  the 
same  truth  that  had  been  taught  by  Christ,  by  Paul, 
and  by  other  Christian  teachers.  The  old  command- 
ment of  the  former  teachers  and  the  old  commandment 
of  the  written  word  of  God  becomes  a  new  command- 
ment, because  it  has  a  higher  and  deeper,  although  not  a 
different  meaning  now.  It  was  old  because  long  known 
to  the  Christians.  But  when  it  came  to  them  at  first  it 
was  entirely  new.  It  was  new  to  the  Jews,  because  it 
was  never  fully  taught  in  their  Scriptures,  and  never 
before  enforced  by  the  example  and  authority  of  Jesus.  ^ 

It  was  a  new  thing  in  Christ,  and  it  is  new  in  us.    It 

1  John  13  :  34. 
F 


68  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

was  true  in  him  and  true  in  us.  This  new  meaning 
comes  since  the  darkness,  based  on  hatred,  is  passing 
away  from  us,  because  of  the  true  light  which  is  shining 
in  its  fullness  through  him.  This  light  shines  first 
through  Christ,  and  in  a  measure  through  us  wdio  have 
received  him.  Hence  the  old  words  are  now  filled  with 
new  power.  The  living  embodiment  of  the  w^ord  of 
God  as  seen  in  Christ,  and  our  reproduction  of  him, 
walking  as  he  walked,  gives  a  clearer  light  to  the  world. 
Here  is  something  actually  before  men's  eyes,  true  in 
Christ  and  true  in  the  members  of  his  church,  first  illus- 
trated in  Christ  and  then  imparted  to  us.  It  is  realized 
both  in  Christ  and  in  the  believer  in  union  with  him. 

In  the  Old  Testament  it  was  an  outward  command- 
ment. In  the  New,  the  essence  of  that  commandment 
is  revealed  in  Christ.  "Hear  ye  him/'  So  that  now, 
to  us,  it  is  not  only  a  commandment  but  also  a  person. 
As  that  thing,  life,  was  true  in  Jesus,  it  is  true  in  his 
children  as  partakers  of  his  nature.  It  is  true  in  him 
and  in  them.  So  that  the  darkness  is  now  drawn  from 
the  face  of  the  earth  as  a  curtain,  and  the  light  is  begin- 
ning to  dawn  upon  it — the  light  that  is  revealed  by 
Christ  and  is  received  and  reflected  by  the  church. 

Lastly  we  come  to  consider  confession  of  union  in 
light.  ''He  that  saith  he  is  in  the  light."  In  the 
first  chapter  we  had,  "  If  we  say  that  we  have  fellow- 
ship with  him  "  who  is  light  ;  but  ''  He  that  saith  he 
is  in  the  light,"  means  something  more  than  fellowship 
with  it.  Thus  we  have  a  steady  advance  :  To  know 
him,  to  be  in  him,  to  abide  in  him,  and  to  be  in  the 


SAYING    AND    DOING  69 

light,  because  we  are  in  him.  We  have  a  clearly  de- 
fined advance  from  knowledge  to  union,  from  union  to 
communion,  from  communion  to  stability,  and  from 
stability  to  illumination. 

Here,  in  this  phrase,  man  is  surrounded  by  an  atmos- 
phere of  divine  glory.  He  is  in  spiritual  light  as  Israel 
was  in  the  midst  of  physical  light.  Light  is  caused  by 
the  presence  of  the  sun,  and  sjDiritual  light  is  caused  by 
the  presence  of  God.  To  Israel  it  was  a  visible  light 
guiding  the  feet,  but  to  us  it  is  within,  guiding  the 
heart. 

"  JTe  that  saith  he  is  in  the  light,  and  hateth  his 
brother,  is  hi  darkness.^ ^  The  brother,  in  this  place, 
doubtless  means  the  Christian,  although  others  are  not 
excluded.  It  is,  at  least,  the  one  to  whom  he  has 
assumed  the  relationship  of  brother.  Dr.  Westcott 
says  :  * '  There  is,  as  it  appears,  no  case  where  a  fellow- 
man,  as  man,  is  called  a  brother  in  the  New  Testament." 
But  other  than  Christians  are  not  under  consideration 
in  this  passage.  It  is  here,  exactly  as  in  the  tenth  of 
John,  where  we  have  the  parable  of  the  sheep  and  the 
Good  Shepherd.  There  is  nothing  said  about  the  goats 
there,  and  nothing  is  said  about  the  world  here.  The 
brethren  are  those  who  are  united  to  God  through  Jesus 
Christ.  Now  to  hate  the  brother  reveals  a  moral  state 
the  opposite  of  that  which  is  claimed  by  the  man  who 
professes  that  he  is  in  the  light.  Light  and  love  are 
identified,  just  as  darkness  and  hatred  ;  in  both  cases 
they  go  together.  Spotless  purity  and  fervent  aflTection 
go  hand  in  hand. 


70  THE    FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

To  be  ill  the  light,  therefore,  will  be  to  love  the 
brother.  To  hate  a  brother  will  be  an  evidence  of 
abiding  in  the  darkness.  He  that  loves  abides  in  the 
light,  and  he  that  abides  in  the  light  loves.  In  the 
light  we  not  only  see  God,  and  are  seen  by  him,  but 
we  see  our  brother  and  we  are  drawn  to  him. 

Such  persons  as  abide  in  the  light  have  no  occasion 
to  stumble,  neither  will  they  cause  others  to  stumble, 
nor  will  they  create  difficulties  for  themselves.  ' '  Great 
peace  have  they  who  love  thy  law."  They  see  their 
brethren,  but  do  not  stumble  against  them.  Love  gives 
a  single,  but  a  connected  and  clear  prospect,  while 
hatred  engenders  questions  and  doubts  and  difficulties. 
Want  of  love  is  the  most  prolific  source  of  offense  ;  but 
if  a  man  hates,  then  he  is  in  darkness,  he  walks  in 
darkness,  does  not  know  where  he  is  going,  nor  does  he 
perceive  the  nature  of  the  path  leading  to  his  destina- 
tion, and  darkness  has  blinded  his  eyes.  His  position 
is  such  that  he  could  not  see  the  true  path  even  if  re- 
stored to  the  light — he  has  no  eyes  to  see.  His  blind- 
ness is  one  of  long  standing,  a  state  from  which  he  was 
supposed  to  have  recovered. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  Christian  is  in  fellowship  with 
light,  although  he  has  sinned  in  the  past.  Although 
he  may  sin  in  the  present,  yet  he  is  still  in  fellowship 
by  the  blood  and  person  of  Christ.  We  see  here  that 
this  fellowship  with  light  and  life  puts  upon  him — the- 
one  who  confesses  it — an  obligation  to  obey,  to  imitate, 
and  to  love.  But  this  obligation  comes  after  the  revela- 
tion and  the  life,  and  after  forgiveness  and  intercession. 


SAYING    AND    DOING  71 

Then,  and  not  until  then,  does  the  obligation  to  this 
higher  and  holier  walk  come  upon  our  lives.  Life 
comes  before  the  flower,  the  fragrance,  and  the  fruit  in 
the  natural  world.  "They  that  are  planted  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord ' '  have  first  their  divine  life,  after- 
ward the  flower  of  obedience,  then  the  fragrance  of  a 
Christlike  character,  and  the  ripened  fruit  of  unwearied 
love  will  follow  in  its  season. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    FADING  WORLD    AND    THE  ABIDING    CHURCH 

^  ^  ,  Having   considered   our    relation   to 

lJohn2 :  12-17    ^    ,    .       ,.   ,  ,  i  i-       . 

(jrod  in   light  and  our   obligation  to 

him  in  a  three-fold  union  of  knowledge,  life,  and  light, 
John  proceeds  to  speak  of  our  attitude  toward  the  world. 
Incidentally,  he  had  mentioned  that  light  and  love 
were  but  two  forms  of  one  essence.  Just  as  heat,  light, 
and  motion  are  three  forms  of  one  force  in  the  natural 
world,  so  life,  light,  and  love  are  different  forms  of  one 
force  in  the  spiritual  world.  To  be  in  the  light,  there- 
fore, involved  a  love  for  the  discovered  brother,  walk- 
ing also  within  its  glow.  Immediately  there  comes  be- 
fore the  mind  of  this  great  apostle  the  danger  of  hav- 
ing love  go  out  to  objects  not  in  harmony  with  the 
*'  Father  of  Light."  Hence,  in  tenderness  he  calls  the 
family  of  faith  about  him  and  proceeds  to  w^arn  them 
against  loving  the  world  in  any  of  its  outward  forms  or 
in  any  of  its  inward  possessions. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  as  to  whether  John 
is  here  dividing  Christians  into  three  classes  or  two — 
whether  "little  children,"  in  ver.  12  and  13,  includes 
the  whole  church  or  a  part  of  it.  On  the  whole,  it 
seems  to  be  probable  that  by  these  terms  he  is  designat- 
ing the  whole  church.  This  is  shown  from  the  follow - 
72 


THE  FADING  WORLD  AND  ABIDING  CHURCH    73 

iug  reasons  :  (1)  The  word  in  the  Greek  is  not  the  same 
in  both  verses  as  is  the  case  in  the  mention  twice  made 
of  young  men  and  fathers.  In  ver.  12  it  is  a  term 
of  endearment  corresponding  to  our  word  child,  while 
that  in  ver.  13  generally  stands  for  infants.  (2)  These 
words  {rtx\)ia — tehiia  and  Tzatdia — paidia)  are  often  used 
by  John  when  speaking  of  the  whole  body  of  believers.^ 
(3)  Our  Lord  himself  uses  both  these  terms  when  ad- 
dressing his  disciples."^  (4)  If  John  had  meant  to 
represent  three  different  classes,  he  would  surely  have 
put  them  in  some  order  ;  either  children,  young  men, 
and  fathers,  or  fathers,  young  men,  and  children — 
either  an  ascending  or  a  descending  scale  ;  but  he  has 
not  done  so.  If  we  take  "  children  "  to  stand  for  the 
whole  church,  then  the  order  is  maintained  of  fathers 
and  young  men  in  both  the  present  and  past  forms  of 
the  word  "  write." 

In  this  first  term  of  tender,  fatherly  address  he  men- 
tions two  things  true  of  them  all  as  children  in  the  fam- 
ily :  their  sins  are  forgiven  and  they  have  come  to  know 
the  Father.  As  ' '  children  ' '  they  are  forgiven — they 
have  both  the  nature  and  the  forgiveness  of  their 
Father,  into  whose  family  they  have  been  born.  As 
'*  little  ones  "  they  know  the  Father  ;  and  as  knowl- 
edge implies  obedience,  the  idea  of  subordination  is 
emphasized  here  as  kinship  is  in  the  previous  verse.  So 
John  writes  to  the  whole  church  as  one  w^ho  shares  its 
spiritual  nature  and  is  set  in  authority  over  it.  On  the 
other  hand,  we  are  bound  one  to  another  by  virtue  of 

1  2  :  18, 28  ;  3  :  7,  18  ;  4  :  4  ;  5  :  21.  2  John  13  :  33  and  21  :  5. 


74  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

our  common  life  iu  Christ,  because  we  are  "children," 
and  as  ' '  little  ones ' '  we  recognize  our  weakness  and 
dependence  upon  the  care  of  our  Father. 

But  whether  we  emphasize  our  relation  as  his  chil- 
dren or  our  subordination  as  his  little  ones,  Christ  is  at 
once  the  source  of  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  the 
forgiveness  of  sins.  Knowing  him,  we  know  the  Father 
also.^  It  is  immediate  and  direct  knowledge,  and  in- 
volves a  belief  in  the  love  revealed  and  submission  to 
the  authority  proclaimed.  The  forgiveness  is  a  present 
possession  of  the  whole  family,  and  it  is  given  ' '  for  his 
name's  sake."  Because  Jesus  is  what  his  name  ex- 
presses,— the  Jehovah  Saviour,  appointed  by  God  as  the 
channel  of  mercy, — God  forgives  and  imparts  life  to  all 
who  put  faith  in  him.  We  believe  in  his  name  for  life  ^ 
and  we  believe  in  his  name  for  forgiveness.  ^  Hence  the 
whole  aim  of  John's  writing  in  the  Gospel  was,  '*that 
ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God,  and  believing  ye  might  have  life  in  his  name. ' ' 

Now  then  under  this  general  term,  applicable  to  all 
believers  alike,  we  have  '^  fathers  "  and  "  young  men." 
The  first  term  marks  both  age  and  eminence  in  spiritual 
things  in  the  church.  These  fathers  had  come  to  know 
God  as  the  One  from  the  beginning.  They  understood 
that  from  the  unbegun  beginning — from  everlasting — 
the  One  revealed  in  Jesus  was  the  true  God.  Such  a 
knowledge  would  imply  an  apprehension  of  the  divine 
thought  (f'^d/Jw')  which  is  akin  to  his  glory  (''^<>:d) — the 
divine  thought  in  eternity  which  is  fulfilled  in  time. 
1  John  14  :  7.  2  john  1:12.  3  Acts  4  :  30  and  10  :  43. 


THE  FADING  WORLD  AND  ABIDING  CHUKCH    (0 

Such  a  believer  brought  into  fellowship  with  God 
through  such  knowledge  would  be  a  father  in  the 
church. 

The  young  men  had  overcome  the  evil  one  and  were 
strong.  The  source  of  their  strength  and  the  secret  of 
their  victory  is  the  indwelling  of  the  word  of  God. 
They  had  conquered,  once  and  for  all,  by  knowing 
God  and  by  passing  from  the  power  of  Satan  to  God. 
Being  in  living  contact  with  the  source  of  life,  their 
youthful  vigor  was  directed  to  a  divine  end  by  the  in- 
ward power  of  the  divine  voice.  The  individual,  hand.- 
to-hand  aspect  of  the  Christian  life  in  its  contest  wdth 
the  individual  who  is  the  source  and  prince  of  darkness, 
is  brought  out  here  in  the  address  to  young  men. 

Thus  the  whole  church  is  drawn  to  the  apostle's 
heart  as  children  who  share  with  him  divine  life  and 
full  forgiveness,  and  who  owe  to  him  submission  and 
reverence.  Then  he  addresses  the  "  fathers  "  who  have 
gained  knowledge  and  the  ' '  young  men  ' '  who  are 
strong,  who  have  the  word  of  God  abiding  in  them,  and 
who  have  gained  and  maintained  a  mastery  over  the 
evil  one.  Fathers  have  been  given  for  contemplation 
and  youths  for  active  service.  Having  drawn  the  be- 
lievers to  his  heart  and  having  appealed  to  attainments 
in  knowledge  made  by  the  aged  and  to  the  victory  and 
strength  possessed  by  those  youthful  in  years,  he  pro- 
ceeds with  a  solemn  warning  in  the  form  of  a  command. 

The  repetition  of  "  I  write ' '  and  ' '  I  wrote  ' '  might 
refer  to  what  had  been  written  in  the  Gospel  and  also 
to  what  John  was  then  writing  in  this  Epistle.     But  it 


76  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

is  better  to  consider  the  change  of  tense  as  indicating 
John's  feelings  while  writing,  then  afterward  as  con- 
templating its  perusal  by  those  to  w^hom  it  was  sent. 
''  I  write  "  marks  the  waiting,  and  ''  I  have  written," 
the  reading.  Its  emphasis  gives  weight  to  the  exhorta- 
tion, 

^^  Love  not  the  world.'' ^  If  the  conjecture  is  right 
that  John  had  before  his  mind  the  form  of  the  taber- 
nacle, as  some  think,  this  command  accords  with  that 
thought.  He  had  considered  the  nature  and  grace  of 
God  as  set  forth  in  the  symbols  of  the  Most  Holy  Place, 
then  the  character  and  testimony  which  ought  to  be 
maintained  by  his  children  as  presented  by  the  dumb 
but  impressive  symbols  of  the  Holy  Place,  and  now  w^e 
may  assume  that  he  retires  to  the  outer  court,  and  to 
its  relation  with  the  camp.  Here  he  comes  into  contact 
w^ith  the  world. 

What  is  meant  by  '■ '  the  world  ' '  here  needs  to  be 
clearly  understood.  It  stands  for  that  whole  order  of 
things  in  the  human  race  which  is  estranged  from  God, 
and  which  is  hostile,  both  to  him  and  to  his  people.  Its 
natural  enmity  and  its  inherent  opposition  to  God  are 
of  its  essence.  For  the  most  part,  in  the  mind  of 
John,  **the  world"  is  humanity — the  human  race — 
alienated  from  the  life  of  God.  It  also  includes  Satan, 
the  demons  under  his  direction,  and  so  much  of  the 
material  world  as  shares  the  stain  and  estrangement  of 
the  race. 

At  first  it  seems  almost  startling  to  be  forbidden  to 
love   that  which   God    himself  loves.     He  loves  this 


THE  FADING  WORLD  AND  ABIDING  CHURCH    77 

estranged,  hating,  and  sin-stained  world.  He  gave  a 
proof  of  that  love  that  cannot  be  doubted.  But  it  is 
one  thing  to  love  the  world  that  it  may  be  saved,  and 
its  moral  character  changed  ;  it  is  quite  another  to  love 
the  world  that  it  may  be  possessed  and  enjoyed  as  it  is 
now  estranged  from  God.  It  is  one  thing  to  love  it 
back  to  God,  and  altogether  a  different  thing  to  love  it 
apart  from  God.  We  may  love,  we  must  love  the 
world  of  men,  if  we  are  to  be  true  children  of  the  true 
God  ;  but  the  outward  form  of  their  organized  life 
and  the  things  around  which  they  gather,  we  may  not 
love.  The  world  of  men,  as  men,  is  the  marred  and 
ruined  creation  of  God  ;  but  the  world  of  men  in  its 
organized  life  is  Satan's  dominion  and  God's  rival. 
To  love  the  one  is  to  imitate  God  as  the  philanthropist 
— the  man -lover.  ^  To  love  the  other  is  to  imitate 
Satan  as  a  murderer — a  man-killer.^  To  love  the 
world  in  the  former  sense  is  to  have  the  love  of  a 
father  toward  a  wayward  boy,  while  he  may  have  the 
deepest  hatred  of  his  ways  and  sorrow  for  his  sins.  To 
love  the  world  in  the  latter  way  is  the  love  of  this 
prodigal  boy  by  a  boon  companion  who  sympathizes 
with  his  principles  and  shares  his  sins.  The  lawfulness 
or  unlawfulness  of  the  love,  therefore,  depends  upon 
the  character  of  the  one  who  loves.  God  being  what 
he  is  may  do  what  man  may  not  do — not  because  of 
the  love  in  either  case,  but  because  of  the  ends  which 
the  love  seeks  to  attain.  God  looks  through  the  sur- 
face to  the  possibilities  beyond  ;  man  looks  at  the  ap- 

1  Titus  3:4.  2  John  8  :  44. 


78  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

pearance,  and  enters  into  its  pleasures.  The  world  is 
the  same,  but  the  love  is  different.  God's  love  of  the 
world  is  a  divine  compassion,  while  ours  is  a  selfish 
desire  and  pride. 

The  world  then,  against  which  John  warns  us,  is 
all  of  that  organized  form  of  life  which  we  see  before 
us,  moving  on  in  various  ways  apart  from  God.  In 
one  country  it  may  be  under  the  control  of  a  single  in- 
dividual, as  in  the  days  of  imperial  Rome  ;  in  others, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  people,  as  in  many  nations 
to-day  ;  or  it  may  be  that  lawless  abandonment  of  un- 
civilized life  still  prevalent  over  a  large  part  of  the 
human  race.  But  whatever  form  human  society  may 
assume,  from  the  most  autocratic  authority,  demanding 
the  blindest  obedience,  on  the  one  hand,  down  to  the 
wildest  disregard  of  governmental  control  on  the  other, 
that  society  will  still  represent  man  alienated  from  the 
life  of  God,  indifferent  to  the  claims  of  God,  and  dis- 
obedient to  the  commands  of  God.  And  in  the  circle 
of  each  person's  existence,  the  whole  of  that  floating 
mass  of  thought,  purpose,  plan,  principle,  maxim,  aim, 
— indeed,  everything  that  surrounds  us, — represents  the 
world. 

God  constituted  the  world  with  Adam  at  its  head, 
and  it  was  well-pleasing  to  him.  It  was  man's  world 
with  God's  love  trusted,  God's  autliority  acknowledged, 
God's  command  obeyed,  and  God's  glory  worshiped. 
But  Satan  came  in  and  preached  a  lie — instilled  doubt 
as  to  God's  goodness  and  a  disbelief  of  the  truth. 
This  lie  was  believed  and  acted  upon  by  the  united 


THE  FADING  WORLD  AND  ABIDING  CHURCH    79 

head  of  the  race,  and  thereupon  a  new  world — a  new 
moral  world — was  formed.  It  has  continued  to  exist 
in  unbroken  rebellion  until  to-day.  Of  this  world 
Satan  is  the  ruler,  apart  from  God.^  He  inspires  its 
purposes,  directs  its  energies,  and  molds  its  character, 
by  virtue  of  the  lie  which  he  first  proclaimed,  and 
which  man  persists  in  believing.  To  love  that  world, 
thus  formed  and  maintained,  is  to  love  what  was  begun 
in  a  slander  upon  the  character  of  God,  constituted 
in  defiance  of  his  government,  and  upheld  in  opposition 
to  his  will.  Love  not  this  world.  It  is  a  guilty,  con- 
demned, Christ-hating,  Christian -hating  world.  Its 
fashion  is  passing  away  ;  its  friendship  is  enmity  to 
God  ;  and  its  pollutions  are  an  abomination  to  him. 
Having  fallen  from  a  trust  in  the  love  of  God,  it  now 
lies  prostrate  under  the  malignity  of  the  devil.  It  is 
an  essential  part  of  pure  religion  to  keep  unspotted 
from  this  world. 

"  Nor  the  things  in  the  ivorld.'"  It  is  possible  for  a 
man  to  deny  that  he  loves  the  world  while  he  pursues, 
with  keenest  scent,  many  of  the  things  that  are  in  the 
world.  The  pleasures,  honors,  riches,  and  places  of 
authority  in  the  world,  pursued  as  an  end,  are  clearly 
forbidden.  The  continued  pursuit  of  the  things  of  the 
world  leads  to  the  loss  of  a  sense  of  the  presence  of 
God,  and  of  our  relation  to  him  as  Father. 

"  If  any  man  love  the  ivorld,  the  love  of  the  Father  is 
not  in  him.^^  This  means  that  the  love  of  God  does 
not  abide  in  him  as  an  abiding  principle.     The  desire^ 

1  John  12  :  31 ;  Eph.  2  :  2. 


80  THE    FIRST   EPISTLE   OF   JOHN 

/or  the  world  comes  from  the  world.  Nothing  rises 
higher  than  its  source.  It  is,  therefore,  inconsistent 
with  love  from  the  Father  returning  to  the  Father,  to 
love  the  world.  There  can  be  no  room  for  two  oppos- 
ing loves  in  one  heart,  any  more  than  for  two  rival 
kings  on  one  throne.  It  is  impossible  to  serve  God 
and  mammon.  Either  may  be  served,  but  not  both. 
To  be  friends  of  the  world  is  to  make  ourselves  enemies 
of  God.^  To  please  men  alienated  from  God  is  to  part 
from  Christ,  the  Kevealer  of  God.'^  How  these  con- 
trasts of  John  strike  home  to  the  heart  !  Light  and 
darkness,  truth  and  falsehood,  love  and  hate,  the  love 
of  the  Father  and  the  love  of  the  world,  cannot  exist 
together.  It  is  impossible  for  a  child  to  love  his  father 
while  walking  in  the  Avays,  loving  the  principles,  and 
rejoicing  in  the  aims  of  that  father's  foes,  plotting  the 
devastation  of  his  estate  and  the  ruin  of  his  home.  The 
two  are  so  opposed  that  love  for  both  is  a  moral  impos- 
sibility. 

*' All  that  is  in  the  world, ^^  embraces  both  the  out- 
ward material  things  and  the  lusts  which  lead  to  their 
love.  This  outward  world  enticing,  and  this  inward 
world  responding,  are  called  the  ' '  lust  of  the  flesh,  the 
lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the  pride  of  life."  That  is  all  the 
world  has — there  is  nothing  more  in  it.  It  is  the 
world's  anti-trinity — tlie  Father  and  the  world,  the 
Son  and  the  devil,  the  Spirit  and  the  flesh.  But  liow 
various  the  forms  they  assume  and  how  marvelous  the 
power  they  exert.  The  first  lust  springs  out  of  the  flesh, 
J  James  4:  4.  sQal.  1: 10. 


THE  FADING  WORLD  AND  ABIDING  CHURCH    81 

or  the  heart  of  the  natural  man  ;  the  second  springs  out 
of  our  ability  to  take  knowledge  of  things  without, 
and  it  is  inflamed  by  their  appearance  ;  Avhile  the 
third  belongs  to  our  manner  of  life,  leading  to  pompous 
display.  To  have,  or  the  lust  of  the  flesh  ;  to  see,  or 
the  lust  of  the  eye  ;  and  to  be  seen,  or  the  pride  of  life, 
sums  it  all  up.  We  desire  wrongly,  and  we  display 
what  we  own  or  what  we  have  seen  wrongly.  We  de- 
sire with  a  wrong  spirit  what  we  can  make  our  own  or 
what  we  can  only  see,  and  then  we  masquerade  with  a 
glory  not  our  own. 

' '  The  lust  of  the  flesh  ' '  does  not  mean  the  lusts  of  the 
body.  The  body  by  itself  has  no  desires,  except  as  it 
becomes  the  channel  to  express  the  life  which  is  rooted 
within  the  body.  It  stands  for  those  desires  which 
inhere  in  our  depraved  natures — for  covetousness,  as 
well  as  uncleanness,  which  are  said  to  belong  to  our 
members  upon  the  earth.  The  lusts  have  their  seat  in 
what  is  called  ''the  mind  of  the  flesh."  ^  But  glut- 
tony, drunkenness,  and  uncleanness  are  not  always  the 
most  dangerous  forms  of  this  unlawful  desire.  A  dark 
catalogue  of  them  is  given  in  Gal.  5  :  19-21.  These 
forms  of  lust  may  be  inflamed  in  the  most  insidious 
way.  They  may  come  as  an  angel  of  light  through  the 
gems  of  literature,  the  cadence  of  poetry,  the  warmth 
of  art,  or  the  swell  of  music.  It  is  not  enough  to  be 
out  of  the  world,  but  the  world  must  be  kept  out  of  us. 

"  The  lust  of  the  eyes''  is  the  unlawful  desire  w^hich 
the  eye  begets  by  seeing.     It  stands  for  those  desires  of 

1  Rom.  8  :  6. 


82  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

which  the  eyes  are  the  organ.  While  the  flesh  stands 
for  appropriation,  the  eye  stands  for  contemplation — 
the  flesh  for  physical  and  the  eye  for  mental  pleasure. 
Outward  beholding  may  become  inward  action.  David 
became  envious  when  he  saw  the  prosperity  of  the 
wicked.  His  great  fall  and  subsequent  shame,  and  the 
chastening  rod  which  followed  him  to  the  grave,  came 
through  the  lust  of  the  eye.  "  Eyes  full  of  an  adulter- 
ess, and  that  cannot  cease  from  sin  "  is  a  terrible  descrip- 
tion of  the  degradation  to  which  the  eyes  may  be  re- 
duced. 

' '  The  pride  of  life ' '  sums  up  the  balance  of  what 
there  is  in  the  world.  The  other  two  channels  of  tem])- 
tation  may  be  indulged  alone,  but  this  one  must  be  ex- 
ercised in  company  with  others.  It  stands  for  vain- 
glory, arrogance,  pretentious  show,  gasconade,  ''swag- 
ger." It  stands  for  the  fashion  of  our  living,  our 
house,  furniture,  table,  equipage,  dress,  rank,  and  even 
for  our  faces  and  forms,  and  the  vanity  and  pride  with 
which  we  display  them.     It  is  a  false  view  of  values. 

It  is  right  to  desire  to  possess  that  which  may  sup- 
port life  and  minister  to  others.  The  gratification  of 
our  sense  of  beauty  can  no  more  be  wrong  than  the 
gratification  of  our  hunger  or  thirst.  There  is  a  true 
desire  of  having  and   there  is  a  pure  love  of  beauty. 

There  may,  however,  be  an  unlawful  desire  to  have 
at  the  expense  of  another  ;  there  may  be  a  low  appre- 
ciation of  art  and  a  degrading  pride.  This  pride  will 
make  demands  for  recognition,  unjustified  by  facts.  It 
will  make  claims  to  which  it  has  no  right,  to  gratify  its 


THE  FADING  WORLD  AND  ABIDING  CHURCH    83 

strutting  propensities,  and  this  is  the  world  we  may  not, 
must  not,  love. 

The  world's  glitter  attracts  and  we  respond,  seeking 
its  prizes  to  keep  up  appearances.  With  the  cultured 
world — with  any  world  for  that  matter — all  must  be  in 
correct  form  and  in  good  style.  It  is  the  world's  pride 
to  be  creditable  in  its  own  eyes.  What  is  not  so  must 
be  toned  down  or  concealed  by  a  falsehood.  It  is  bet- 
ter to  lie  than  to  appear  to  be  in  bad  form.  The  out- 
ward life  must  be  grand  and  graceful,  decent  and  re- 
spectable, and  in  the  polite  world  the  veneer  of  chivalry 
and  courtesy  are  added.  No  matter  how  wretched  and 
rotten  within,  no  matter  how  sinful  and  selfish  beneath 
the  surface,  all  must  be  correct  on  the  outside.  Do 
what  you  please,  but  do  not  be  talked  about — let  it  not 
"  transpire." 

Oh,  what  struggles  we  make  and  w^hat  burdens  we 
bear  to  outdo,  outmaneuver,  and  outshine  one  an- 
other !  The  lusts  of  the  flesh  can  be  crucified,  the  lusts 
of  the  eye  may  be  overcome  by  the  charity  which  en- 
vieth  not,  but  the  pride  of  life,  who  can  check  ?  Men 
are  more  afraid  of  breaking  a  rule  of  etiquette  than 
they  are  of  breaking  the  law  of  Moses.  They  are  more 
afraid  of  a  descent  from  some  choice  pinnacle  of  re- 
spectability than  of  an  act  of  disloyalty  to  Christ.  It 
w^as  said  of  a  certain  European  prince  that  he  broke  the 
seventh  commandment  with  a  titled  lady,  and  then 
"perjured  himself  like  a  gentleman  to  protect  her." 
What  a  revelation  of  "the  whited  sepulchre  of  the 
world."     The  good  opinion  of  the  world  must  be  re- 

G 


84  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

nounced  at  times  if  we  would  be  true  to  God  at  all 
hazards. 

These  temptations  correspond  to  those  presented  to 
our  first  parents,  and  afterward  to  our  Lord.  The  lust 
of  the  flesh  answers  to  the  ' '  good  for  food  ' '  in  the  fruit ; 
* '  a  delight  to  the  eyes ' '  corresponds  to  the  lust  of  the 
eyes  ;  to  "  become  as  God  ' '  was  an  appeal  to  the  pride 
of  life.  The  same  was  offered  to  Jesus.  He  was  asked 
to  make  bread  out  of  stones  ;  to  bow  down  to  Satan  that 
he  might  get  possession  of  the  world  displayed  before 
his  eyes  ;  and  to  dash  himself  from  a  high  pinnacle,  in 
order  to  show  the  care  of  the  angels  bearing  him  up, 
that  he  dash  not  his  foot  against  a  stone.  Our  Lord 
withstood  every  attack  by  saying:  "It  is  written, 
Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone  but  by  every  word 
that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God.  .  .  Thou 
shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God  and  him  only  shalt  thou 
serve.  .  .  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God." 
This  was  the  response  made  by  our  victorious  Lord  to 
the  wiles  of  the  devil.  Man  shall  not  disobey  God  to 
gratify  an  appetite  ;  he  shall  not  bow  down  to  Satan  to 
gain  possession  of  what  the  eye  may  covet ;  and  he  shall 
not  put  God  to  the  test  to  gratify  his  pride.  Jesus  con- 
quered where  the  first  Adam  failed,  and  through  his 
victory  we  too  may  overcome  the  world. 

All  these  things  are  "  not  of  the  Father."  As  origi- 
nally constituted,  everything  in  the  world  that  attracted 
man,  and  every  desire  responding  thereto,  were  of  God. 
The  desire  was  good,  and  the  object  desired  good,  be- 
cause all  tended  to  fulfill  man's  relation  to  God  and  to 


THE  FADING  WORLD  AND  ABIDING  CHURCH    85 

harmonize  with  the  whole  order  of  the  world.  Eveu  to 
exult  was  good,  because  it  was  an  acknowledgment  of 
the  divine  goodness.  But  now  the  order  is  disturbed. 
The  desire  is  suggested  by  the  creation  and  not  by  the 
Creator,  every  attraction  is  molded  by  man  alienated 
from  God,  and  not  by  the  Father  to  whom  the  obedient 
child  should  look  for  guidance.  It  thus  happens  that 
every  false  tendency  is  but  the  corruption  of  what  was 
once  a  noble  instinct.  The  three  channels  of  our  ruin 
are  all  that  is  left  of  the  seiise  of  dependence,  the  appre- 
ciation of  beauty,  and  the  desire  to  be  grateful — trust, 
joy,  and  worship.  The  mind  that  7ioiv  controls  the 
scene  is  from  Satan  and  leads  to  his  ends.  That  mind 
which  springs  from  God  in  the  new  creation  through 
Christ,  and  that  alone,  is  directed  toward  God.  God's 
love  gave  Christ,  and  he  begat  us  again  in  that  love, 
and  the  instincts  of  the  new  life  naturally  return  to  its 
source.  It  cannot  be  directed  toward  the  world  any 
more  than  that  perverted  love  which  springs  from  the 
world,  and  which  is  directed  toward  its  lusts,  can  turn 
toward  God.  John  lays  bare  the  inmost  kernel  and 
shows  the  essential  difference  in  origin  and  aim  of  the 
love  of  the  world  and  the  love  of  God  in  this  passage. 
We  have  seen  that  we  must  not  love  the  world  be- 
cause two  master  passions  cannot  exist  in  the  same  heart 
at  the  same  moment.  We  have  also  seen  that  nothing 
of  the  present  order  of  things  is  of  God.  All  these 
things  have  been  created  by  him,  but  the  use  to  which 
they  have  been  put,  and  the  ends  which  they  are  made 
to  serve,   are  not  of  God.     The  world  is  now  formed 


86  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

around  the  lie  of  Satan,  and  it  is  made  the  rival  of  God. 
Devotion  to  the  world  and  loyalty  to  God  are  as  impos- 
sible as  to  look  both  ways  or  to  run  in  two  directions  at 
the  same  moment. 

We  are  now  shown  still  further  that  the  fate  of  the 
world  is  inherent  in  its  character.  All  that  is  in  the 
world,  the  objects  without  and  the  desires  within,  are 
passing  away  even  now.  The  love  of  the  world  and  the 
love  of  God  are  different  in  origin,  aim,  and  ends.  The 
one  abides  forever,  and  the  other  vanishes  forever. 
The  whole  world,  in  its  present  social  dependencies, 
governmental  arrangements,  and  physical  forms,  will 
pass  away.  Although  he  tarry  long,  God  will  finally 
make  a  full  end  of  the  reign  of  Satan  and  of  sin  in  the 
universe.  The  kingdom  of  darkness  is  but  for  a  day. 
It  carries  within  it  the  seeds  of  its  own  destruction. 
Lusts,  in  a  still  more  depraved  form,  may  be  carried 
out  into  another  world,  but  the  gratification,  even  for  a 
moment,  will  be  forever  removed.^ 

Over  against  this  command  to  withhold  love  from  the 
world  is  placed  the  inducement  to  do  the  will  of  God. 
Not  idleness  from  evil,  but  activity  in  that  which  is 
good,  is  the  path  marked  out  for  the  child  of  God. 
''He  that  doeth  the  will  of  God  abideth  forever.^' 
While  everything  which  gathers  about  the  confused 
world  formed  by  Satan  comes  to  a  speedy  end,  eternal 
fixedness  belongs  to  the  order  of  things  that  gather 
about  God  and  his  will.  He  has  a  great  purjDose  ;  all 
things  are  arranged  for  its  attainment,  and  his  will  is 
1  Luke  16  :  24. 


THE  FADING  WOKLD  AND  ABIDING  CHURCH    87 

leading  on,  without  a  shadow  of  change,  to  this  great 
end.  We  need  to  understand  the  will  of  God  as  con- 
nected with  this  great  plan,  and  then  to  love  and  do 
that  will.  We  must  set  aside  our  desires  to  have,  to 
see,  and  to  shine,  in  this  world.  Our  own  will  and  the 
will  of  the  world  must  be  replaced  by  the  sweet  will  of 
God.  By  doing  his  will  we  begin  to  do  here  what  will 
be  continued  yonder.  When  everything  else  changes, 
the  obedience  of  love  remains  the  same.  Commencing 
to  do  the  will  of  God  now,  we  '*  shall  abide  forever  " — 
"unto  the  age'' — until  that  age  which  introduces  the 
new  order  of  things  that  abides  forever.  That  which 
takes  the  place  of  desire  for  the  world  and  the  things 
within  it  is  the  living  and  active  believer  in  Christ 
doing  the  will  of  God.  The  will  of  God  obeyed  is  the 
final  end  of  all  things.  When  that  comes  it  will  be 
the  health,  the  harmony,  the  music,  and  the  glory  of  the 
universe.  We  shall  then  have  the  moral  music  of  the 
spheres.  AVhosoever  doeth  the  will  of  God  is  a  mother, 
a  sister,  and  a  brother  to  the  Son  of  God,  and  he  is  the 
new  center  around  which  everything  is  made  to  reor- 
ganize in  truth,  righteousness,  and  glory.  The  world 
formed  about  Satan  will  pass  away,  but  the  new  order, 
aggregating  around  God  in  Christy  shall  abide  forever. 
The  divine  love  of  the  Father  will  then  be  overshadowed 
by  the  divine  majesty  of  God — the  kingdom  will  have 
been  delivered  up,  that  God  may  be  all  in  all. 

Let  us  be  careful  not  to  substitute  anything  else  for 
the  will  of  God.  Satan  has  wiles  to  deceive.  He  will 
speak  of  abstaining  from  meat  and  marriage,  and  point 


88  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

to  the  sanctity  of  a  retirement  from  the  activities  of  life 
in  the  seclusion  of  the  cloister.  He  will  encourage 
austere  habits  in  self  and  severe  judgments  upon  others. 
But  Jesus  Christ  had  no  perplexities  about  going  in  and 
out  among  his  fellows,  and  partaking  freely  of  those 
things  which  came  as  ' '  the  riches  of  his  goodness. ' '  He 
moved  freely  where  the  Pharisees  were  restrained.  And 
this  was  true  because  he  was  always  doing  the  will  of  God, 
whether  he  was  in  company  with  the  punctilious  Phari- 
sees, the  rationalistic  Sadducees,  or  the  wretched  harlots 
and  sinners.  If  we  are  bent  upon  doing  the  will  of 
God  difficulties  will  vanish.  The  world  and  its  lusts 
are  passing  away,  just  as  we  have  already  seen  that  the 
darkness  is  passing  away.  But  doing  the  will  of  God, 
like  the  light  which  is  now  shining,  will  abide  forever. 
He  that  serves  the  Avorld  will  share  its  fate,  while  he 
who  does  the  will  of  God  will  share  his  life.  As  for  the 
earth  and  the  heavens,  ' '  They  shall  wax  old  as  doth  a 
garment,  and  they  shall  be  changed,  but  thou  art  the 
same  and  thy  years  shall  not  fail." 

"I  worship  thee,  sweet  will  of  God, 
And  all  thy  ways  adore  ; 
And  every  day  I  live,  I  long 
To  love  thee  more  and  more. 


He  always  wins  who  sides  with  God, 
To  him  no  chance  is  lost ; 

God's  will  is  sweetest  to  him  when 
It  triumphs  at  his  cost." 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE    ANTICHRIST    AND    THE   CHRISTIAN 

We  must   bear  in  mind   that  the 

,   ,       ,     .  ,  u^    •       ^i,  iJohn  2  :  18-29 

apostle  s  closing  thought  m  the  pre- 
ceding verse  was  the  passing  away  of  the  world  in  its 
present,  organized  form.  John  had  before  his  mind  the 
world  of  men,  and  not  the  world  of  matter.  It  did  not 
derive  its  principles  and  aims  from  the  Father,  and 
must  therefore  come  to  an  end.  But  John  knew^  from 
the  teaching  of  the  prophets  and  from  the  great  dis- 
course delivered  by  our  Lord  on  Mount  Olivet  just 
before  his  crucifixion,^  that  the  end  of  the  gospel  age 
would  be  marked  by  a  daring  apostasy  under  the  Anti- 
christ. Finding  that  there  were  many  in  his  day  ex- 
hibiting its  characteristics,  he  said,  "  Little  children,  it 
is  a  last  hour^' — it  is  an  hour  showing,  in  germ,  the 
ripened  wickedness  of  an  apostate  world  when  its  hour 
of  doom  shall  come.  It  was  an  hour  having  in  essence 
all  the  deception  and  blasphemy  of  the  closing  moments 
of  an  apostate  age. 

The  subject  under  consideration  is  that  aspect  of  the 

world  which  it  will  speedily  assume,   making  it  in  a 

special    sense    the  enemy  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the 

heir  to  its  dominion.     We  must  keep  clearly  before  us 

1  Matt.  24  : 1-23. 


90  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

the  meaning  of  "  world."  It  may  include  the  material 
order  of  things,  but  here  John  had  in  view  the  social 
order  and  political  arrangements — the  maxims,  the 
way  of  doing  things  among  men,  in  fact,  everything 
that  goes  to  make  up  human  society  as  it  is  now  consti- 
tuted. When  the  world,  as  thus  understood,  passes 
away.  Antichrist  will  be  at  its  head.  But  John  de- 
clares that  there  are  already  many  antichrists  in  the 
world  who  profess  to  be  anointed  of  God,  but  they  need 
not  lead  us  astray,  because  we  have  from  God  the  true 
anointing.  These  anointed  and  anti-anointed  are  placed 
over  against  each  other  here — Christ  and  the  Anti- 
christ, the  Christians  and  the  antichristians. 

In  the  previous  chapter  the  contest  described  was 
with  the  w^orld  ;  now  the  struggle  is  between  the  true 
Christian  and  the  hostile  powder  rising  within  and  pro- 
ceeding from  the  Christian  society.  He  speaks,  not 
merely  of  the  antichristian  system  outside  of  the 
church,  but  of  the  antichristian  system  inside  of  the 
church,  although  both  forms  of  rebellion  will  exist  at 
that  time.  From  the  Scriptures  we  know  that  the  last 
apostasy  will  have  Christian  light,  Grecian  intellect, 
Koman  power,  and  Oriental  splendor  all  concentrated. 
The  last  assault  upon  the  truth  of  God  >vill  be  under 
the  leadership)  of  one  who  is  Greek  in  origin  and  char- 
acter, Roman  in  power,  Oriental  in  majesty,  Jewish 
in  the  sphere  of  his  action,  and  Christian  in  the  form  of 
his  apostasy.  These  things  are  made  known  in  a  fully 
developed  form  in  the  Apocalypse.  In  the  twelfth 
chapter  we  have  the  imperial  power  of  the  world  against 


THE    ANTICHRIST    AND   THE    CHRISTIAN         91 

which  the  church  will  have  to  contend  ;  and  in  the 
thirteenth  chapter  the  power  of  the  false  prophet  going 
out  from  the  professed  church.  Because  these  false 
teachers  were  already  going  out  at  that  time  it  is  called 
a  last  hour,  not  the  last  hour/  (So,  Westcott  and 
others. )  It  had  the  characteristics  of  the  last  stage  of 
the  Christian  dispensation.  In  Second  Thessalonians  we 
learn  that  the  Lord  cannot  come  (or  be  present)  until 
the  apostasy  takes  place  and  the  man  of  sin  is  revealed.^ 
His  manifestation  would  be  in  the  hour  immediately 
preceding  the  advent. 

The  conception  of  the  last  time  or  ' '  last  hour  ' '  rests 
upon  the  Old  Testament,  in  which  that  very  phrase 
occurs.  Examples  may  be  seen  in  Gen.  49  : 1  ;  Num. 
24  :  14  ;  and  Isa.  2  :  2.  Sometimes  it  refers  to  the  mil- 
lennial age,  as  in  the  second  chapter  of  Isaiah.  Here  it 
refers  to  that  period  of  apostasy  and  trial  which  is  to 
usher  in  the  millennium  or  the  age  to  come.  And 
hence  Avhen  the  teachers  in  the  Old  or  the  New  Testa- 
ment refer  to  the  last  hour  of  human  society,  they  al- 
ways speak  of  it  as  a  season  of  unequaled  trouble, 
through  which  God  shall  establish  the  reign  of  right- 
eousness. And  this  is  the  real  idea  of  the  phrase  in  the 
New  Testament  where  the  words  time,  days,  and  hours 
occur.^     There  is  a  sense  in  which  this  **  last  hour  "   is 


1 "  The  last  hour,  i.  e.,  the  end  of  the  age,  and  verj-  near  the  return  of 
Christ  from  heaven."— "Grimm's  Lexicon,"  Thayer. 

2  There  is  a  strong  preponderance  of  opinion  in  favor  of  the  view 
that  the  Antichrist  of  St.  John  is  the  same  as  the  man  of  sin  or  great 
adversary  of  St.  Paul. 

■5 1  Tim.  4  : 1 ;  2  Tim.  3:1;  Matt.  24  :  29,  30 ;  James  5  :  3. 


92  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

an  indefinite  period.  We  speak  in  the  same  way  of  the 
"day  of  Napoleon,"  "the  hour  of  the  Revolution." 
It  designates  an  indefinite  time  immediately  preceding 
the  coming  of  the  Lord.  John  had  just  said  that  the 
world  was  passing  away,  and  that  those  who  were  doing 
the  will  of  God  would  continue  "  until  the  age,"  that 
is,  until  the  age  when  the  risen  saints  would  never  die, 
and  also  until  the  coming  of  "  the  age  of  ages,"  the 
everlasting  state.  Now  he  proceeds  to  say  that  the 
Christians  of  that  day  had  already  entered  into  a  phase 
of  that  last  hour.  The  last  days  of  John  were  charac- 
terized by  a  number  of  "antichrists"  foreshadowing 
the  personal  Antichrist  of  the  future. 

'^  As  ye  have  heard  that  Antichrist  cometh.^^  West- 
cott  says  concerning  this  verse  :  ' '  The  absence  of  the 
article  shows  that  the  term  had  become  current  as  a 
technical  or  proper  name."  The  early  Christians  were 
all  taught  concerning  the  coming  of  this  monster.  But 
if  they  were  to  have  "the  rapture"  before  the  Anti- 
christ, why  this  instruction  ? 

On  the  principle  that  "coming  events  cast  their 
shadows  before  them"  these  antichrists  appeared  as 
adumbrations  of  the  coming  climax  of  evil  in  church 
and  world.  There  is  no  denying  the  fact  that  in  apos- 
tolic and  post -apostolic  days  the  common  belief  of  the 
Christians  was  that  the  Antichrist  would  immediately 
precede  the  return  of  the  Lord.  It  will  be  admitted 
that  between  the  days  of  John  and  his  return  no  event 
in  the  world's  history  has  occurred  or  will  occur  com- 
parable to  the  advent  ;  therefore  this  intervening  time 


THE    ANTICHRIST    AND    THE    CHRISTIAN         93 

was  naturally  called  "  a  last  hour."  Accordingly,  all 
through  early  Christian  literature  we  find,  not  only  the 
constant  hope  and  expectation  of  the  return  of  the  Lord, 
but  also  a  constant  dread  of  the  coming  of  the  Antichrist. 
Warburton  says  :  ' '  The  late  appearance  of  Antichrist 
was  a  doctrine  so  universally  received  in  the  primitive 
church  that  it  was  like  a  proverbial  saying  among 
them."  Westcott  says  :  "  As  we  look  forward  a  sea- 
son of  sore  distress  separates  us  from  that  which  is  still 
to  be  revealed."  And  again  he  says  :  " In  post-bibli- 
cal times  the  age  to  come  was  sharply  distinguished 
from  the  period  of  trial  by  ivhich  it  was  to  be  ushered  in, 
and  the  latter  days  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  season  of 
conflict  and  suffering  through  which  the  divine  victory 
should  be  accomplished."  It  is  a  fact  well  worth  care- 
ful consideration  that  not  even  once^  in  any  Christian 
writing  up  till  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  is 
there  the  faintest  hope  expressed  that  the  church  would 
escape  this  time  of  trouble  during  the  night  of  Anti- 
christ. 

The  term  Antichrist  occurs  only  here  and  in  4  : 
3,  and  also  in  2  John  7.  There  can  be  no  doubt, 
however,  that  the  same  person  is  referred  to  as  '  *  the 
lawless  one,"  "  the  man  of  sin,"  '*  the  deceiver,"  and 
other  terms.  The  word  Antichrist  indicates  both  the 
person  and  the  character  of  one  yet  to  come.  Origi- 
nally the  word  '*  anti  "  meant  over  against  or  opposite 
to.  Hence  it  is  used  in  exchange  and  in  buying 
and  selling.  Things  that  were  exchanged  were  set  over 
against  each  other  as  having  the  same  value.     In  time 


94  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

it  came  to  mean  that  which  is  the  equivalent,  that 
which  corresponds  to  ;  for  the  equivalent  of  anything  ia 
regarded  as  standing  in  its  stead.  It  is  used  in  this 
sense  of  Archelaus  who  reigned  (anti)  instead  of  his 
father.  Thus  the  Antichrist  is  the  one  who  stands  over 
against  and  will  seek  to  supplant  the  Christ.  He  will 
fulfill  our  Lord's  words  spoken  to  the  Jews,  **I  am 
come  in  my  Father's  name,  and  ye  receive  me  not  ;  if 
another  shall  come  in  his  own  name,  him  ye  will  re- 
ceive." The  Antichrist  is  coming  in  his  own  name, 
and  him  they  will  receive.  He  will  not  come  in  behalf 
of  Christ,  but  against  him  and  against  those  who  are 
Christ's.  He  will  not  be  a  vicar  or  vicegerent,  as  the 
pope  claims  to  be,  but  a  supplanter,  as  Absalom  was. 
For  this  reason  he  is  called  the  Antichrist.  Those  who 
in  John's  day  denied  the  incarnation,  ojiened  the  door 
for  this  adversary  in  the  day  to  come. 

His  coming  will  be  to  the  Jews  ;  but  just  as  both 
Jews  and  Gentiles  united  in  rejecting  the  Christ,  so  will 
the  Gentile  apostasy  unite  with  the  Jews  in  receiving 
the  Antichrist.  The  apostate  Jews  and  the  unbelieving 
Gentiles  crucified  the  Christ  in  the  past  ;  but  the  apos- 
tate church  and  the  unbelieving  Jews  will  unite  in 
deifying  the  Antichrist  in  the  future. 

It  will  thus  come  to  pass  that  in  "  the  last  hour,"  or 
the  end  of  this  age,  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  apostasy 
will  do  just  the  opposite  of  what  was  done  when  Christ 
came.  Then  they  rejected  the  true  prophet  and  the 
true  Christ  ;  in  the  coming  day  they  will  receive  the 
false  prophet  and  the  false  Christ.     When  Christ  was 


THE    ANTICHRIST    AND    THE    CHRISTIAN         95 

on  earth  he  was  the  embodiment  of  God,  and  they  said 
he  was  in  league  with  the  devil  ;  when  the  Antichrist 
comes,  he  will  be  the  embodiment  of  the  devil,  and 
they  will  say  he  is  in  league  with  God.  They  called 
white  black  then,  they  will  call  black  white  in  that 
time  to  come.  They  put  the  incarnate  God  upon  the 
cross  in  the  past,  they  will  put  the  embodiment  of  the 
devil  upon  the  throne  in  the  future.  They  have  exe- 
cuted God  in  the  flesh,  they  will  worship  the  devil 
personified. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  God,  before  long,  to  have  the  Man 
who  is  his  ' '  fellow  ' '  manifested  on  earth  as  the  center 
and  channel  of  knowledge,  majesty,  glory,  and  power. 
Just  prior  to  that  day,  Satan,  anticipating  the  action 
of  God,  will  put  his  own  glory  upon  an  individual 
man,  and  the  world  will  be  carried  away  with  his 
dazzling  achievements.  As  in  the  days  of  our  Lord 
there  were  some  Jews  who  wanted  signs  and  prodigies, 
and  some  Greeks  who  wanted  wit  and  wisdom,  so  will 
it  be  at  the  end  of  this  age.  There  will  be  a  demand 
for  the  miraculous,  the  wonderful,  the  unnatural,  and 
there  will  be  a  demand  also  for  some  one  of  great  men- 
tal calibre  and  ingenuity,  somebody  to  dazzle  the  world 
and  command  its  admiration.  The  devil  in  his  own 
time  will  supply  that  demand,  and  the  person  who 
meets  it  will  be  the  Antichrist.  This  will  come  to  pass 
because  such  is  the  will  of  that  evil  spirit  that  worketh 
in  the  sons  of  disobedience,  and  also  because  men  will 
delight  to  see  one  of  themselves  exalted  to  power.  All 
of  the  intellect,  knowledge,  arts  and  arms  of  men,  and 


96  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

all  of  the  glory  and  majesty  that  have  characterized 
the  ancient  monarchies,  will  be  combined  in  one  man. 
The  divided  power  and  the  scattered  intellect  of  former 
ages  will  be  so  centered  in  him  that  he  will  be  a  per- 
sonification of  the  past,  and  the  dead  will  seem  to  live 
again.  He  will  be  that  Agamemnon  for  whom  the 
world  has  longed  and  waited.  All  of  the  Antichristian 
principles  that  have  existed  in  various  forms  from  apos- 
tolic days  to  the  very  end,  will  be  brought  into  system- 
atized unity  under  this  coming  man.  He  will  be  the 
Saul  of  man's  choosing,  preceding  the  Son  of  David, 
w^hom  God  will  make  the  King  of  kings.  He  will 
combine  all  the  earthly  glories  of  worldly  monarchs 
from  Nimrod  to  Csesar,  and  he  will  be  the  climax  of 
earthly  greatness,  a  "king  of  men,"  a  slave  of  Satan, 
a  usurper  against  Christ,  and  an  enemy  of  God. 

The  coming  of  this  Antichrist  is  really  the  feature 
that  is  now  before  us.  "  That  day  (of  Christ's  com- 
ing and  our  gathering  to  him)  will  not  be  except  the 
falling  away  come  first."  ^  There  is  no  use  of  pictur- 
ing and  preaching  bright  and  hopeful  things  concerning 
the  present  course  of  events.  This  age  will  certainly 
terminate  in  the  reception  of  the  false  Christ  as  the 
former  age  terminated  in  the  rejection  of  the  true 
Christ.  Christ  refused  to  reign  over  unregenerated 
men  ;  but  the  Antichrist  will  eagerly  seek  such  a  do- 
minion. Christ  refused  to  reign  in  this  age,  deferring 
his  day  until  the  age  to  come  ;  but  the  Antichrist  will 
exalt  himself  above  every  object  of  worship  at  the  close 

1  2  Thess.  2  :  3. 


THE    ANTICHRIST    AND    THE    CHRISTIAN         97 

of  this  age  in  which  we  live,  and  for  a  short  time  reign 
supreme. 

The  pope  seeks  to  reign  now,  and  aims  to  establish 
rule  over  men  who  are  nominally  regenerated  because 
they  are  "  christened."  This  has  led  many  people  to 
suppose  that  he  is  the  Antichrist.  Some  future  pope 
may  become  that  Antichrist,  and  Romanism  is  doubt- 
less a  shadow  of  the  coming  antichristian  system  in 
many  particulars.  But  no  pope  has  ever  yet  filled  to 
the  full  the  role  of  the  Antichrist — not  one  of  them  has 
denied  the  fact  that  Christ  has  come  in  the  flesh, 
although  most  of  them  have  denied  the  self-emptying 
Spirit  which  he  manifested  when  he  came  ' '  in  the  like- 
ness of  sinful  flesh."  Moreover,  when  the  Antichrist 
does  appear,  Christ  will  immediately  appear  and  destroy 
him,  according  to  Second  Thessalonians.  Popery  has 
existed  for  many  centuries  and  our  Lord  has  not  yet 
come.  The  pope,  therefore,  is  not  the  Antichrist. 
But  the  rise  of  the  trades-unions,  almost  entirely  con- 
trolled by  Romanists,  and  the  patronizing  attitude  of 
the  present  pope  toward  the  masses,  point  to  a  possible 
union  of  these  two  forces  which  may  culminate  in  the 
antichristian  system,  with  a  coming  pope  at  its  head. 
Who  knows  ?  It  is  more  probable,  however,  that  the 
Antichrist  will  be  a  secular  prince,  and  that  some  future 
pope  may  be  the  ''false  prophet  "  of  Revelation. 

This  truth  concerning  the  Antichrist  was  part  of  the 
original  message  given  by  our  Lord  and  his  apostles.^ 

1  See  Mark  13  :  6 ;  Matt.  24  :  5,  24  ;  Acts  20  :  30 ;  1  Tim.  4:1,2;  2  Thess. 
2  :  1-11. 


98  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

The  early  Christians,  therefore,  were  constantly  on  the 
outlook  for  the  spirit  of  Antichrist  in  false  teaching.  It 
cannot  be  claimed  that  what  is  said  in  this  Epistle  of  John 
and  in  Second  Thessalonians  is  Jewish.  These  letters 
are  distinctively  Christian.  Now,  if  the  Antichrist  is 
to  come  after  the  ''rapture  of  the  church,"  it  would 
seem  very  strange  that  so  much  should  be  said  to  the 
church  about  his  coming,  his  characteristics,  his  career, 
and  his  crisis.  The  warning  concerning  this  coming 
deceiver  and  persecutor  is  given  to  the  Christians  in 
the  New  Testament  with  greater  fullness  and  frequency 
than  to  the  Jews  in  the  Old.  The  fact  that  both  bodies 
are  directly  warned  against  tribulation  and  the  one  who 
inaugurates  it,  seems  to  indicate  that  they  will  both  be 
concerned  in  the  trying  events  of  that  awful  hour. 

In  the  days  of  the  apostles  certain  persons  ' '  went 
out"  from  the  church.  Until  going  out,  they  could 
not  be  distinguished  from  the  rest.  They  looked,  acted, 
and  prayed  like  them,  but  they  never  drew  their  life 
from  Christ  as  true  believers.  They  professed  to  speak 
with  the  voice  of  Christ,  having  come  from  a  Christian 
community.  Their  apostasy  revealed  the  fact  that  tliey 
never  had  any  vital  union  with  Christ.  They  went  out 
in  accordance  with  the  divine  will,  that  it  might  be 
manifest  that  they  were  not  truly  of  the  church.  God 
desires  a  separation  between  those  who  know  his  Son 
and  those  who  know  him  not,  and  the  only  real  test  is 
the  likeness  or  unlikeness  of  their  character  to  that  Son 
in  walk,  and  their  confession  or  denial  of  his  name  in 
testimony. 


THE    ANTICHRIST    AND    THE    CHRISTIAN         99 

True  believers  have  the  power  of  discerning  the  real 
character  of  these  deceivers  and  of  distinguishing  them 
from  the  anointed  ones,  or  Christians.  The  prophets, 
the  priests,  and  the  kings  of  old  were  anointed,  and  all 
the  Christians  are  now  prophets,  priests,  and  kings  in 
Christ.  They  have  the  anointing  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Jesus  was  anointed  without  measure  as  our  Head.^ 
We,  as  members  of  his  body,  are  also  anointed  by  the 
Holy  Spirit.^  The  anointing  is  from  the  Holy  One — 
the  One  revealed  in  Christ,  and  in  whom  is  no  darkness 
at  all.  There  will  be  some  in  that  day  professing  to  be 
anointed  of  God  and  are  not,  but  the  Christians,  who 
really  are  anointed,  will  be  able  to  detect  the  hollow- 
ness  and  deception  of  these  teachers.  Hence  he  says, 
"  Ye  know  all  things,"  or,  "  Ye  all  k7iow,^'  and  .  .  . 
*'  need  not  that  any  one  teach  you.''^  That  is,  you  have 
no  need  that  any  one  teach  you  that  Christ  is  come  ;  you 
know  that,  and  you  know  that  no  lie  can  have  any  con- 
nection with  that  truth  of  God.  Becoming  anointed  thus, 
we  are  made  like  little  children  in  simplicity.  And  it 
comes  to  pass  here,  as  it  is  seen  in  the  earthly  family — 
meuAvould  frequently  rather  accept  the  judgment  of  an 
innocent  woman,  or  of  a  little  child,  about  the  character 
of  a  stranger,  than  to  trust  their  own  judgment.  So,  the 
enlightenment  given,  and  the  simplicity  created,  by  the 
anointing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  quickens  the  discernment 
and  corrects  the  judgment  of  the  saints.  It  is  the 
office  of  the  Paraclete  to  guide  into  all  truth. ^  It  thus 
happens  that  those  who  are  anointed  by  God  in  Christ 

1  Comp.  Luke  4  :  18  with  Isa.  61 :  1.       ^2  Cor.  1 :  21.       3  John  16  :  13. 
H 


100  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

are  so  brought  into  sympathy  with  him  that  they  can 
detect  and  resist  those  who  are  influenced  by  the  spirit 
of  Satan,  and  are  ''antichrists."  The  Holy  Spirit  is 
from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  and  it  is  a  token  that  we 
are  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  when  we  have  re- 
ceived him. 

Hence  *'?/e  know  all  things.'^  They  have  a  belief 
and  certain  knowledge  of  certain  great  fundamental 
facts  and  they  cannot  be  deceived.  "No  man  calls 
Jesus  Lord  except  by  the  Holy  Ghost,"  and  the  man 
who  in  his  heart  accepts  Jesus  Christ,  knows  more  than 
the  greatest  unbelieving  philosopher  can  teach  him.^ 
"Evil  men  understand  not  judgment,  but  they  that 
seek  the  Lord  understand  all  things."  The  Christian 
system  is  not  represented  as  containing  ' '  elements  of 
truth,"  nor  yet  "more  truth  than  any  other  system," 
but  it  contains  all  truth  that  is  essential.  It  is  either 
everything y  or  worse  than  nothing.  All  modern  attempts 
at  a  "comparison  of  religions"  is  an  insult  to  the 
Founder  of  the  Christian  system.  You  can  no  more 
compare  Christianity  with  other  religious  systems,  than 
you  can  compare  the  living  God  with  other  gods. 
There  are  no  other  gods,  they  are  idols  ;  there  are  no 
systems  of  truth  that  meet  the  needs  of  men,  they  are 
deceptions. 

The  believer,  having  learned  of  the  Father,  knows 
the  truth  and  knows  that  no  lie  is  of  the  truth,  just  as 
no  darkness  is  of  the  light.  Now  if  Jesus  has  not  come, 
then  there  has  been  no  revelation  of  the  Father.     To 


1  John  16  :  13. 


THE    ANTICHRIST    AND    THE    CHRISTIAN      101 

reject  the  Son,  therefore,  is  to  set  aside  the  Father,  for 
he  can  only  be  known  through  the  Son.  Only  God  can 
make  God  known.  Both  Father  and  Son  are,  there- 
fore, set  aside  by  the  Antichrist,  and  also  by  his  ad- 
vance heralds.  And  this  is  done  in  order  that  their 
place  may  be  claimed  by  himself  as  an  object  of  wor- 
ship. He  will  set  aside  every  acknowledgment  that 
man  is  dependent  upon  a  power  higher  than  his  own, 
and  in  the  vacuum  thus  created  will  seek  to  establish 
his  throne.  Instead  of  the  great  truth  that  God  be- 
came man  he  will  set  up  his  lie  that  man  is  God. 

At  this  point  John  seems  almost  to  have  lost  his  pa- 
tience. With  the  quickness  and  vivacity  of  a  young 
man  he  says  :  ''Who  is  a  liar  but  he  that  denieth  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ  f  To  deny  that  Jesus  is  the 
Anointed  of  God,  in  its  full  significance,  intellectual, 
moral,  and  spiritual,  includes  all  falsehood.  It  takes 
away  all  connection  between  God  and  man.  "  He  is 
the  Antichrist,  even  he  that  denieth  the  Father  and  the 
Son."  To  deny  the  one  is  to  deny  the  other,  and  to 
deny  the  Son  is  to  be  without  the  Father.  The  Father 
and  the  Son  are  correlatives.  No  man  can  know^  the 
Father  except  through  the  Son.^  The  Antichrist  how- 
ever denies  the  Son,  and  by  so  doing  he  denies  and  cuts 
himself  off  from  the  Father.  If  one  man  sends  money 
to  another  by  a  bank  draft,  to  reject  the  draft  is  to  re- 
fuse the  money.  To  reject  Christ,  through  whom  the 
unseen  God  is  revealed  and  the  riches  of  his  grace 
given,  is  to  reject  God  himself.     But  every  one  who 

1  Matt.  11  :  27. 


102  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

confesses  the  Son  openly,  and  receives  him  in  heart,  is 
at  once  put  in  fellowship  with  the  Father.  He  con- 
fesses Fatherhood  in  God  and  Souship  in  Christ  and 
owns  the  relationship  between  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
and  therefore  he  knows  and  has  the  Son  and  the  Father. 
But  the  Antichrist  does  the  exact  opposite  of  this.  He 
maintains  a  central  falsehood  in  regard  to  God  and  his 
word,  in  regard  to  Christ  and  man,  and  is  therefore 
the  liar  above  all  others.  Such  a  one  hath  not  the  Son 
whom  he  rejects  nor  the  Father  whom  he  professes  to 
honor.  We  cannot  reject  the  Son  and  retain  the  Father 
any  more  than  we  can  reject  the  rays  from  the  sun  and 
yet  accept  its  light  and  heat.  But  the  one  who  con- 
fesses the  Son — says  in  his  heart  the  same  things  about 
him  that  the  Father  says — he  already  possesses  the 
Father  as  well  as  the  Son.  The  only  knowledge  we 
can  have  of  the  Father  is  through  the  Son. 

As  if  closing  up  the  whole  of  his  thought  concerning 
the  Christian's  relation  to  the  antichristian  spirit  and 
to  the  Antichrist,  he  says  :  '^Let  that  abide  in  yon,  ivhich 
ye  heard  from  the  beginning.''  Let  the  simple  truth  of 
the  gospel  which  was  received  at  the  beginning  abide 
in  you.  This  seems  to  teach  that  God  gave  to  these 
Christians,  through  the  apostles,  all  the  truth  of  this 
dispensation,  at  its  beginning.  This  deposit  of  truth 
became  the  standard  for  all  time.  If,  therefore,  that 
which  had  been  given  to  them  in  the  beginning  re-, 
mained  in  them,  they  would  abide  where  they  were  at 
first  placed  by  grace,  "  in  the  Son  and  in  the  Father." 
All  the  truth  of  the  dispensation  was  given  at  its  begin- 


THE    ANTICHRIST    AND    THE    CHRISTIAN      103 

ning,  and  to  some  of  the  apostolic  churches  it  was  all 
given  at  the  beginning  of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  be- 
lievers in  those  churches.  That  truth,  and  not  personal 
effort,  constituted  the  enduring  strength  of  the  Chris- 
tian. John  exhorts  his  readers  to  let  that  gospel  truth, 
in  its  unity,  be  unhindered,  and  to  let  it  be  the  inspi- 
ration and  the  stability  of  their  life.  The  loins  should 
be  girded  with  this  deposit  of  truth.  If  the  heart  is 
full  of  truth  it  will  have  no  room  for  falsehood,  and  if 
the  truth  abideth  in  us  then  we  abide  in  the  Son  and  in 
the  Father.  This  completes  the  promise  of  eternal  life, 
for  eternal  life  is  union  with  God  by  a  knowledge  of 
his  Son.^  Life  is  organic  union,  death  is  separation. 
Eternal  life  is  organic  union  with  him  who  was  from 
the  beginning,  and  it  is  fittingly  called  the  age-abiding 
life,  or  the  life  of  the  ages.  ' '  These  things  have  I 
written  unto  you  concerning  them  that  would  lead  you 
astray. ' ' 

He  proceeds  now  to  encourage  them  still  more  by 
saying  that  the  anointing  which  they  received  remains 
in  them.  This  is  in  accordance  with  other  statements 
about  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  he  would  abide  with  us, 
after  w^e  are  sealed  by  him,  unto  the  day  of  redemption. 
On  account  of  this  they  did  not  need  any  one  to  teach 
them  this  fundamental  truth  concerning  the  Messiahship 
of  Jesus.  The  Holy  Spirit  became  to  them  a  sure 
criterion  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  and  of  the  truth. 
He  so  illuminated  them  that  they  knew  they  needed  a 
Saviour,  and  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  One  who  met 

1  John  17  :  3. 


104  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

their  need.  They  would,  therefore,  remain  firm  in  that 
divine  fellowship,  established  by  the  teachings  received 
at  first,  and  perpetuated  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  Holy  Spirit  was  sent  to  make  the  incarnation  of 
our  Lord  fully  known,  and  he  is  ever  bringing  out 
something  more  of  the  infinite  meaning  of  his  person 
and  work.  This  first  teaching  contained  all  that  was 
brought  to  light  in  their  subsequent  experiences.  The 
believer  abides  in  Christ  as  the  Spirit  makes  him  more 
fully  known,  even  as  he  made  him  known  in  the  simple 
gospel.  There  is  nothing  true  that  does  not  agree  with 
the  original  acceptance  of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  come 
in  the  flesh.  There  is  no  room  for  human  invention. 
Westcott  says':  ''This  clause  excludes  all  develop- 
ments of  teaching  which  cannot  be  shown  to  exist  in 
germ  in  the  original  message,  and  at  the  same  time 
leaves  no  room  for  the  invention  of  fanaticism.  That 
which  was  taught  first  is  the  absolute  standard.''^  Truth- 
ful words  these  !  There  is  no  room  for  either  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  rationalist  or  the  progressive  revelation  in 
the  church  of  the  Komanist. 

Now,  then,  comes  another  statement  which  looks  still 
farther  into  the  dim  distance  of  the  future.  The  anti- 
christian  teachers  of  John's  day  suggested  Antichrist 
in  the  last  hour  of  this  gospel  age,  showing  that  even 
in  his  day  the  characteristics  of  the  last  hour  existed. 
After  John  had  instructed  these  believers  concerning 
the  characteristics  and  the  final  appearance  of  the  An- 
tichrist, he  looks  ahead  beyond  that  dreaded  point  to 
something  more  hopeful.      His  eye  goes  out  beyond  the 


THE    ANTICHRIST    AND    THE    CHRISTIAN      105 

last  hour  of  this  present  dispensation,  to  the  supreme 
event  which  is  to  close  this  age  and  usher  in  the  age  to 
come.  Jesus  has  been  manifested  during  his  life/  He 
was  also  manifested  after  his  resurrection  from  the  dead 
to  his  disciples.^  He  will  again  he  manifested  "apart 
from  sin  unto  salvation,"  at  the  second  advent.*  John 
wants  these  ' '  little  children ' '  to  have  confidence,  and 
not  to  be  shamed  away  from  him  at  his  coming.  The 
figure  is  that  of  a  loving  child,  conscious  of  disloyalty 
or  disobedience  when  brought  into  the  presence  of  a 
father.  He  does  not  want  us  to  shrink  as  a  guilty 
thing  surprised.  By  saying  *'if  he  shall  appear"  he 
does  not  throw  doubt  upon  the  fad,  but  uncertainty 
upon  the  time  of  his  coming.  At  whatever  time  he  may 
come,  abiding  in  him  will  secure  an  open  welcome  by 
our  hearts.  These  believers  knew  that  God  in  Christ 
is  righteous.  They  claimed  to  be  his  children,  par- 
takers of  the  divine  nature.  *'Born  of  him"  is  an- 
other of  those  instances  where  John  identifies  the  Son 
with  the  Father.  Being  born  of  God  in  Christ  they 
ought  to  know  that  the  only  proof  of  this  union  would 
be  the  practice  of  righteousness  like  their  Father — they 
ought  to  show  the  marks  of  their  parentage.  Kight- 
eousness  is  not  the  condition  of  sonship,  but  it  is  the 
outgrowth  and  the  consequence  of  sonship.  God  is  the 
source  of  righteousness.  Light  and  heat  do  not  make 
the  sun,  but  the  sun  makes  light  and  heat.  Right- 
eousness is  the  sign  of  sonship,  of  the  abiding  power  of 
the  new  life,  and  of  the  anointing  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
» 1  John  1 :  2  ;  3  :  5,  8.       «  John  21 :  14.       »  Heb.  9  :  28 ;  Col.  3  :  4. 


106  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

Only  a  life  consistent  with  sonship  will  produce  evidence 
of  the  abiding  presence  of  Christ  in  the  heart.  Mere 
profession  will  be  a  weak  reed  at  that  day,  but  if  we 
rely  on  Christ  we  shall  have  boldness  and  not  be 
ashamed.  We  shall  lift  up  our  heads  without  blushing 
and  with  joy  when  the  Lord  is  manifested  in  glory. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

WHAT    WE   ARE   AND    WHAT    WE   SHALL   BE 

So  far  as  we  have  gone  the  promi-     ^  ^  ^     ^    ^  ^ 
-  T^   .    T  1         1  John  3:  1-3 

nent  features  oi   our  Epistle  are  the 

living  God  revealed  as  light,  and  the  believers'  partner- 
ship with  him  and  with  each  other  in  that  light.  Very 
naturally  the  obligations  resting  upon  those  who  share 
the  light  were  also  enforced  from  considerations  of  the 
most  exalted  nature.  With  this  third  chapter  we  enter 
upon  the  second  division  of  the  book,  where  God  still 
continues  to  be  the  theme,  but  from  this  point  he  is  un- 
folded as  the  God  of  love,  and  the  believers  are  "  chil- 
dren ' '  to  him  and  ' '  brethren  ' '  to  one  another.  The 
privileges,  characteristics,  duties,  trials,  and  destiny  of 
those  who  are  elevated  to  this  holy  fellowship  are  made 
known. 

Let  us  call  to  remembrance  what  we  have  already 
seen  of  our  relation  to  the  Living  One  who  was  ' '  from 
the  beginning"  through  the  Revealer  and  the  Ad- 
vocate. Because  of  his  incarnation  he  was  the  Re- 
vealer of  God,  and  because  of  the  propitiation  he  is  the 
Advocate.  This  propitiation  was  for  the  sins  of  be- 
lievers and  for  the  sin  of  the  world.  Confession,  on  our 
part,  of  a  participation  in  the  revelation  made  and  in 
the  grace  given,    carried  with  it  certain  obligations. 

107 


108  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

We  should  instantly  obey  the  One  who  was  revealed  ; 
we  should  '^  walk  as  he  walked  "  who  made  the  revela- 
tion ;  we  should  love  the  brotherhood  as  an  evidence  of 
being  in  the  light. 

At  this  point  our  relation  to  God  as  our  Father,  and 
to  the  w^orld  as  his  enemy,  was  introduced.  In  the 
mind  of  our  author  the  whole  body  of  believers  was 
considered  as  "children"  ;  but  before  God,  some  of 
them  had  the  ripened  experience  of  age,  while  others 
had  the  conquering  power  of  youth.  But  all  are  com- 
manded not  to  love  the  world  which  did  not  arise  out 
of  the  Father's  ordering,  and  which  must  ultimately 
pass  away.  The  time  of  this  dissolution  was  near,  for 
there  were  already  many  *'  antichrists  "  going  out  from 
the  churches,  showing  the  very  marks  of  the  coming 
Antichrist,  who  shall  ride  into  universal  dominion  on 
the  disclosure  of  the  mystery  of  iniquity  immediately 
preceding  the  close  of  this  present  dispensation.  '*  The 
mystery  of  iniquity"  is  working  secretly  now.  But 
toward  the  end  it  will  be  developed  out  of  the  midst  (ex 
/xiffou  yivrjraL)}  "  Then  shall  be  revealed  that  lawless 
one. ' '  ^  When  the  mysterious  system  of  iniquity  comes 
to  the  surface,  then,  and  not  till  then,  will  the  Antichrist 
be  revealed  and  move  on  to  his  climax  of  iniquity. 

But  the  Christ  of  God  will  have  his  revelation  from 
heaven  immediately  after  the  Antichrist  of  Satan,  or 
"man  of  sin,"  is  revealed  on  earth.  The  Antichrist 
will  be  revealed  out  of  the  earth,  and  indeed  out  of  the 
pit,  and  upon  the  earth,  and  all  the  world  will  wonder. 

1  Appendix  C.  -  2  Thess.  2  :  5-7. 


WHAT  WE  ARE  AND  WHAT  WE  SHALL  BE    109 

But  when  he  reaches  the  height  of  human  wickedness 
and  the  depth  of  Satanic  malignity,  ' '  the  Lord  Jesus 
shall  be  revealed  from  heaven,"  and  destroy  him  by  the 
outshining  of  his  presence.  The  Revealer  will  make 
known  greater  glories  when  seen  the  second  time  than 
when  gazed  upon  at  the  first.  *'  The  Life  "  was  mani- 
fested (1:2)  then,  but  "He  shall  be  manifested"  in 
that  coming  day,  and  then  ' '  shall  w^e  also  be  manifested 
with  him  in  glory."  As  the  world  is  waiting  for  the 
apocalypse  of  its  coming  King,  even  so  we  should 
*  *  come  behind  in  no  gift  waiting  for  the  apocalypse 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

In  our  relation  to  the  first  revelation  we  are  now 
children  of  God  ;  but  when  we  consider  our  relation  to 
the  second  revelation  yet  to  be  made  from  heaven,  we 
are  assured  that  we  shall  be  like  the  One  who  is  to  be 
revealed.  While  in  the  previous  chapters  we  have  con- 
sidered what  we  have  at  present  in  heaven,  and  what 
we  ought  to  be  and  do  now  on  earth,  because  of  a  rev- 
elation that  is  past,  we  are  now  to  be  instructed  as  to 
what  we  shall  be  in  the  future,  and  ought  to  be  now, 
because  of  a  greater  revelation  yet  to  burst  upon  our 
eyes.  In  the  past  the  perfect  man  revealed  the  unseen 
God  ;  in  the  future  the  revealed  glory  of  God  will 
transform  man  into  his  likeness.  We  are  the  children 
of  God  now  because  of  what  was  revealed  and  done  in 
the  past.  We  shall  be  like  God  in  that  coming  day 
because  of  what  will  be  revealed  and  accomplished  in 
the  future. 

Having  considered  the  light  that  reveals,  the  blood 


110  THE   FIRST   EPISTLE   OF   JOHN 

that  cleanses,  the  confession  that  secures  forgiveness  on 
earth,  the  advocacy  that  maintains  a  standing  in 
heaven,  the  obedience  in  walk  and  way  that  grows  out 
of  union,  the  aversion  from  the  world  because  of  its 
opposition  to  our  Father,  the  power  to  discover  anti- 
christs because  of  our  anointing,  the  nearness  of  the 
coming  end  and  of  the  re-manifestation  of  Christ,  the 
apostle  then  links  us  to  the  future  unfolding  of  God — 
not  merely  of  '  *  that  which  was  from  the  beginning, ' ' 
but  of  the  Father  who  shall  be  manifested.  He  assures 
us  of  our  standing  and  hope  first  before  enforcing  the 
duty.  It  is  easier  to  walk  and  please  God  when  assured 
of  our  relation  before  we  begin  the  service. 

Here  we  see  the  children  of  God  in  relation  to  the 
present  and  to  the  future.  As  to  the  present,  they  are 
his  children  in  title  and  in  reality,  although  unrecog- 
nized by  the  world.  As  to  the  future,  the  full  charac- 
ter of  their  glory  is  not  made  know^n.  We  only  know 
that  we  shall  be  like  God,  in  Christ,  when  our  Lord  is 
manifested.  The  practical  outcome  of  this  standing 
and  hope  is,  that  we  should  purify  ourselves  up  to  the 
measure  of  the  purity  of  Him  in  whose  likeness  we  shall 
yet  be  made  perfect.  We  should  strive  to  be,  in  present 
attainment,  "  pure  as  he  is  pure  " — we  should  aim  to 
be  now  what  we  shall  be  then. 

"Behold  what  manner  of  love.'"  This  love  is  not 
simply  manifested,  but  is  imparted  to  us.  The  love 
that  glows  in  the  heart  of  God,  and  is  lavished  upon 
his  children,  is  also  infused  into  the  children's  hearts 
and  becomes  the  source  of  a  life  that  is  divine. 


WHAT  WE  ARE  AND  WHAT  WE  SHALL  BE    111 

Now,  this  gift  of  love  forms  the  basis  and  the  justifi- 
cation of  the  divine  title  given  to  us.  This  is  the 
great  love — the  peculiar  manner  of  love — that  ends  in 
making  us  children,  and  in  giving  us  the  title  of  chil- 
dren of  the  living  God.  It  is  not  sons,  but  children. 
This  term  is  used,  doubtless,  to  emphasize  the  two  facts, 
that  we  are  all  partakers  of  the  same  divine  nature 
and  that  there  is  a  possibility  of  growth  in  character 
and  in  privilege  afterward.  Christians  have  the  stand- 
ing of  full-grown  sons  now,  according  to  divine  grace, 
but  John  does  not  have  that  in  view.  He  is  always 
speaking  of  the  life  that  has  been  imparted,  making 
them  children.  This  life  is  not  yet  fully  developed, 
but  there  is  a  promise  of  maturity  and  glory.  Hence, 
John  never  but  once  uses  the  term  "son,"  which  in- 
dicates position  and  privilege,  and  that  only,  when 
speaking  of  the  inheritance  of  all  things  in  the  new 
heavens  and  the  new  earth,  where  the  grow^th  is  com- 
plete.^ Paul  speaks  of  ''sons"  because  he  dwells 
upon  our  standing  through  grace,  while  John  uses 
"  children  "  because  of  life  through  spiritual  birth. 

And  they  are  "  called  "  such — that  is,  they  are  out- 
wardly recognized  as  God's  children.  This  open  rec- 
ognition gives  dignity  and  nobility  to  the  title.  If 
Jesus  is  ' '  not  ashamed  to  call  us  brethren  ' '  neither  is 
our  Father  ashamed  to  acknowledge  us  as  his  children. 

And  now  follows  a  sort  of  after -thought,  "and  such 
we  ai'e."  We  are  not  only  called  and  recognized,  but 
we  are  the  children   of  God.     The  title  corresponds 

1  Rev.  21  :  7. 


112  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

to  the  exact  truth.  There  is  no  sham,  no  make-be- 
lieve about  it ;  we  have  the  name  and  treatment  of 
children  because  we  are  children.  We  have  been  born 
of  God  and  have  a  birthright  place  in  his  family.     If 

"  Kind  hearts  are  more  than  coronets, 
And  simple  faith,  than  Norman  blood," 

far  above  all  is  the  real  life  of  the  real  God,  giving  us 
the  simple  faith,  kindly  heart,  and  princely  standing 
in  the  royal  family  of  the  God  of  Light  and  Love. 
And  then  what  a  prospect  is  before  us  !  An  open  rec- 
ognition in  the  presence  of  an  assembled  universe  on 
that  coming  day  ! 

This  is  our  present  standing  before  God.  But  just 
as  we  have  seen  the  Christian  between  light  and  dark- 
ness, between  love  and  hatred,  between  Christ  and 
antichrists,  so  now  he  is  spoken  of  as  between  God 
and  the  world.  Before  God  we  are  children  in  title 
and  fact  ;  before  the  world,  unknown.  It  is  because  we 
are  children  in  essence  and  not  merely  in  name  that 
we  are  unknown  and  hated  by  the  world.  The  reality 
before  God  is  the  cause  of  the  rejection  before  man. 
The  Christian  is  a  riddle  to  the  world  because  it  cannot 
understand  his  spring  of  action.  Knowledge  of  a  per- 
son implies  oneness  of  feeling.  As  men  of  the  world 
have  no  fellowship  with  anything  save  that  which 
is  agreeable  to  the  flesh,  attractive  to  the  eye,  or  flatter- 
ing to  the  vanity,  they  can  find  no  point  of  attrac- 
tion in  those  who  are  conformed  in  character  to  their 
Heavenly  Father. 


WHAT  WE  ARE  AND  WHAT  WE  SHALL  BE    113 

This  is  not  a  new  thing  in  the  world.  Since  the  en- 
trance of  sin,  God  has  not  been  recognized  by  man. 
God  has  been  revealed  in  creation/  in  his  goodness,^ 
and  in  the  judgments  of  history,^  but  the  world  has 
failed  to  recognize  the  revelation.  And  the  failure 
was  more  conspicuous  when  he  was  manifested  in  his 
own  Son.  After  Jesus  had  revealed  the  Father  during 
his  whole  ministry,  he  wailed  out  at  last,  "  O  righteous 
Father,  the  w^orld  hath  not  known  thee.''  The  servant 
should  not  be  above  the  Master.  ' '  Whosoever  killeth 
you  shall  think  that  he  doeth  God  service.  And  these 
things  will  they  do  unto  you  because  they  have  not 
known  the  Father  nor  me. ' '  The  great  features  of  the 
divine  nature  were  revealed  in  Christ,  but  the  blinded 
w^orld  knew  it  not.  He  was  here,  in  his  own  w^orld,  all 
unheeded  and  unappreciated,  because  he  had  in  him 
another  and  a  different  life  from  that  of  the  first  Adam 
by  whose  descendants  he  was  surrounded.  AVe  must  be 
content  to  be  unknown  before  men  now,  for  in  reverence 
we  can  say  with  the  Master,  "  Our  time  is  not  yet." 
Alford  says  :  ''  It  is  the  world's  ignorance  of  God,  con- 
sidered as  one  great  act  of  non -recognition,  disobe- 
dience, rebellion,  and  hate,  which  makes  them  incapa- 
ble of  recognizing,  loving,  and  sympathizing  with  those 
who  are  veritably  children  of  God." 

"We  know  thai  when  he  shall  appear."  Much 
needless  discussion  has  been  indulged  to  determine 
w^hether  it  is  the  glory  or  the  Father  or  the  Son  that  is 

1  Rom.  1  :  19,  20.  2  Acts  14  :  17. 

3  Rom.  1  :  32 ;  1  Cor.  1  :  21. 


114  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

to  be  manifested.  To  say  nothing  of  the  weight  of  the 
preceding  chapter  (2  :  28)  where  Christ  is  evidently 
indicated,  this  much  is  plain :  All  through  this 
Epistle  John  is  struggling  to  say  that  the  inward  es- 
sence— the  very  life  of  God — was  revealed  in  the  Son. 
Indeed,  so  complete  was  this  revelation  that  to  deny 
the  Son  was  to  deny  the  Father,  and  to  confess  the 
Son  is  to  have  the  Father  ;  the  two  are  one.  Now,  this 
unseen  and  eternal  God  was  manifested  in  the  past,  and 
he  will  be  manifested  in  the  future.  It  was  a  manifes- 
tation "in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh"  in  the  past, 
and  yet  a  complete  manifestation,  so  far  as  such  a 
limit  could  permit  of  such  a  revelation.  But  he  will 
be  manifested  again  in  the  glory  of  the  Father  and  of  the 
holy  angels  and  in  his  own  glory,  in  a  day  that  is  near 
at  hand.  It  is  the  next  thing  to  come  from  heaven. 
This  is  what  * '  shall  appear. ' ' 

By  the  first  manifestation  some  things  were  made 
clear  W'hile  others  were  left  in  the  dark.^  In  the 
manifestation  that  is  yet  to  come,  face  will  answer  to 
face,  light  will  be  shed  upon  the  hidden  things  of  dark- 
ness, and  we  ourselves  shall  be  manifested  in  glory.  In 
the  manifestation  of  the  past  it  was  a  veiling  in  flesh  as 
well  as  a  revealing  through  man.  In  the  manifestation 
for  which  w^e  wait  it  will  be  the  unveiling  and  outshin- 
ing of  God  as  he  is.  And  our  great  hope  is  to  have 
disclosed  to  our  eyes  the  glory  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ. 
When  on  earth  he  was  the  ''Word,"  the  logical  dis- 
course,  unfolding   the   nature   of    God.     When    God 

1  John  13  :  7. 


WHAT  WE  ARE  AND  WHAT  WE  SHALL  BE    115 

appears  on  the  scene  again  the  manifestation  will  still 
be  God  in  Christ.  But  it  will  not  be  the  effulgence  of 
a  glory  through  the  weak  body  furnished  by  the 
Virgin  Mary,  but  through  the  body  of  his  glory,  taken 
out  of  the  virgin  tomb  by  the  power  of  God.  The 
deity  will  be  as  clearly  seen  then  as  the  humanity  was, 
when  he  was  on  earth.  We  shall  be  with  him  and 
' '  behold  his  glory. ' ' 

"We  shall  be  like  him,''  that  is,  like  God  in  Christ. 
The  image  in  which  we  were  originally  made  will 
reach  its  predestined  end  in  the  likeness  of  God  ;  the 
man  created  will  correspond  to  the  nature  and  re- 
flect the  character  of  the  Creator.  It  is  the  Father's 
manifestation  which  fills  the  apostle's  mind  here  ;  but  it 
is  the  Father  as  seen  in  the  Son.  Corresponding  to  this 
conception  is  that  of  the  many  children  coming  to  their 
maturity  exactly  conformed  to  this  revealing  Son.  The 
Father  is  perfectly  revealed  in  the  Sou,  because  he  is 
absolutely  like  the  Father  ;  and  we,  the  many  children, 
will  be  perfectly  conformed  to  the  Father,  because  we 
shall  be  like  the  Son,  whom  we  shall  see.  Knowing 
our  present  standing  and  future  hope,  we  can  well 
afford  to  be  obscure  and  despised  and  rejected,  like  the 
Master  ;  we  can  patiently  wait  with  him  for  the  day  of 
his  outshining  and  the  day  of  our  revealing.  If  God, 
the  Father,  shall  get  glory  in  his  Son,  he  will  also  be 
admired  in  the  many  sons  brought  to  glory  with  him. 

Why  like  him  ?  Shall  we  be  able  to  see  him  as  he  is 
because  we  are  like  him  ?  or  shall  we  be  like  him  be- 
cause we  see  him  as  he  is  ?     Shall  our  likeness  to  his 

I 


116  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

character  enable  us  to  see  him,  or  shall  the  vision 
change  the  essence  of  our  character  ?  In  other  words, 
will  our  likeness  to  him  be  the  condition  or  consequence 
of  our  seeing?  It  is  fair  to  concede  that  the  verbs 
used  here  indicate  that  the  vision  of  God  depends  upon 
our  being  like  him. 

Perhaps  both  are  true  in  a  measure.  It  will  be  im- 
possible to  see  God  as  he  is  unless  we  are  like  him.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  we  see  him  his  glory  will  be  reflected 
from  us  and  its  likeness  will  be  stamped  within  us.  The 
gaze  of  trust  and  love  even  now  by  which  we  dimly  see 
him  ^'  molds  us  by  silent  sympathy  into  the  likeness  of 
his  wondrous  beauty."  But  when  this  gaze  is  "face 
to  face, ' '  and  when  trust  and  love  are  heightened  to 
wonder  and  worship,  then  the  likeness  will  be  com- 
plete. The  old  artists  expressed  a  deep  truth  in  paint- 
ing John  as  most  like  the  Lord.  He  saw  most  in  the 
Lord  because  he  was  most  like  him,  and  he  became 
still  further  transformed  by  what  he  saw.  Both  con- 
ceptions are  true  and  scriptural.  We  can  only  see 
clearly  through  eyes  touched  by  sympathy,  and  we  gain 
greater  power  of  seeing  by  a  loving  contemplation  of 
the  object.  "  The  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God."  That 
is  one  side  of  the  truth.  "  We  all,  with  unveiled  face, 
reflecting  as  a  mirror  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are  trans- 
formed into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory,"  and 
this  is  the  other  side.^  We  see  God  because  we  are 
pure,  we  are  made  pure  because  we  reflect,  and  we  can 
only  reflect  when  we  stand  before  the  glory  as  revealed 

1  Matt.  5:8:2  Cor.  3  :  18. 


WHAT  WE  ARE  AND  WHAT  WE  SHALL  BE    117 

in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  What  we  see  we  will 
surely  show.  Within  our  own  eyes  the  little  picture  of 
what  they  see  can  always  be  seen.  The  heart  beholding 
God  in  Christ  will  mirror  and  manifest  the  glory  which 
it  contemplates. 

But  the  central  truth  is  one  and  the  same,  whether 
we  see  the  vision  because  we  are  like  the  One  revealed, 
or  whether  we  become  like  him  because  we  see  him. 
Our  great  confidence  is  that  we  shall  see  the  full  revela- 
tion of  God  in  Christ,  and  at  that  time  we  shall  be  like 
the  One  we  see.  We  shall  have  a  full,  direct,  and 
clear  knowledge  of  him.  As  things  are  with  us  now, 
no  man  can  see  God  and  live.  But  as  they  shall  be 
then,  "we  shall  see  his  face,  and  his  name  shall  be 
on  our  foreheads. '  •  ^  The  face  is  the  unfolding  of  the 
inward  character,  and  that  shall  be  made  clear  to  us 
then.  Our  foreheads  stand  for  the  revelation  of  our 
own  nature,  and  on  them  will  be  the  Name — that  is, 
the  manifested  character — of  God.  Then  we  shall 
serve  him — do  him  service — leaving  no  aspiration  of 
our  hearts  unsatisfied  and  no  desire  of  his  heart  un- 
gratified. 

St.  Augustine  suggests  "  that  we  shall  see  a  sight  ex- 
celling all  the  beauties  of  the  earth."  Compared  with 
this,  the  beauty  of  gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  forests, 
fields,  mighty  mountains  and  peaceful  glades — the 
beauty  of  sun  and  moon  and  stars,  will  be  dreary  de- 
formity. It  will  excel  all  these,  for  they  are  beautiful 
only  for  and  by  him  whom  we  shall  see.     The  pen  and 

1  Rev.  22  :  4. 


118  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

tongue  have  told  all  they  can  ;  the  rest  must  be  pon- 
dered and  contemplated  by  an  adoring  and  humbled 
heart.  As  the  eyes  are  illuminated  by  the  sun  on 
which  they  gaze,  so  shall  we  be  deified  by  the  God 
whom  we  shall  see.  We  shall  never  again  know  God 
as  our  poor  and  weak  powers  picture  him  now,  but  we 
shall  understand  him  as  he  truly  is — all  Spirit,  all 
Light,  all  Love. 

The  hope  of  becoming  yonder  like  God  should  make 
us  strive  to  be  like  him  here.  This  is  the  only  place  in 
which  John  speaks  definitely  of  the  hope  of  the  Chris- 
tian, although  this  aspect  of  truth  is  often  presented  by 
Peter  and  Paul.  It  is  not  a  hope  in  the  Christian,  but 
a  hope  that  rests  upon  the  Christ.  It  hangs  on  him, 
"every  man  that  hath  this  hope  on  him."  No  Jew 
ever  appeared  before  the  divine  presence  without  first 
purifying  himself  according  to  the  Mosaic  ritual.^  John 
was  by  birth  and  education  a  Jew.  His  mind  grasped 
the  thought  of  a  ritualistic  cleansing,  and  from  that, 
by  an  easy  transition,  he  turned  to  the  real  and  per- 
sonal purification  preparatory  to  a  vision  of  God.  It 
was  all  the  more  imperative  to  be  personally  purified, 
because  at  this  manifestation  God  is  to  appear  in  the 
presence  of  his  people,  rather  than  the  people  in  the 
presence  of  God.  And  the  uncertainty  of  the  time 
made  the  diligence  more  startling.  ' '  If  he  shall  be 
manifested,"  but  at  what  hour  we  do  not  know. 

Those  who  have  this  hope  will  purify  themselves. 
Some  may  find  it  easier  to  do  good  than  to  be  good. 

1  John  11 :  55  ;  Acts  21 :  24 ;  Exod.  19  :  10, 11. 


WHAT  WE  ARE  AND  WHAT  WE  SHALL  BE    119 

In  order  to  expel  sin,  some  may  give  themselves  up  to 
beneficence  rather  than  to  purity  ;  to  doing  good  rather 
than  to  being  good.  But  this  Scripture  implies  both. 
The  one  who  cherishes  this  hope,  purifies  himself,  not 
merely  by  outward  ordinance  and  a  benevolent  life, 
but  by  inward  efibrt.  He  keepeth  himself  pure,  dis- 
ciplines himself  so  that  he  may  live  the  farther  removed 
from  the  impurities  of  life.  By  culture  he  comes  to 
have  a  delicate  sensibility,  shrinking  from  contamina- 
tion with  pollution  of  any  kind.  This  hope  will  lead 
to  the  cleansing  of  his  heart,  imagination,  and  thoughts. 
He  will  make  himself  pure,  ''even  as  Christ  is  pure," 
referring  doubtless  to  the  divine-human  life  of  Christ. 
He  is  i^ure,  and  we  strive  to  become  like  him  in  purity. 
It  is  entire  purification,  not  merely  from  unchastity, 
but  from  all  "defilements  of  flesh  and  spirit."  The 
wellspriug  of  grace  is  in  Christ  and  its  fullness  is 
poured  into  the  heart  of  the  believer.  This  enables  us 
to  become  pure  "as  he  is  pure,"  to  approach  his 
purity  in  kind  but  not  in  degree.  By  the  blood  of 
atonement  we  are  now  free  from  the  pollution  of  sin. 
By  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  up  to  the  meas- 
ure of  our  faith,  we  are  also  delivered  from  the  power, 
habit,  and  preference  of  sin,  but  not  from  its  presence. 
That  final  blessing,  that  climax  of  attainment,  will  be 
ours  when  he  comes  again.  The  hope  of  what  we  shall 
be  then  leads  us  to  reach  out  toward  that  end  now. 

How  shall  we  attain  this  purity?  First,  by  oppos- 
ing the  very  beginnings  of  sin,  by  keeping  the  heart 
clean.     Secondly,  by  contemplating  that  manifestation 


120  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

of  God  which  we  have  seen  in  Jesus  Christ.  In  other 
words,  by  a  loving  and  sympathetic  study  of  Christ  in 
his  moral  glory.  It  is  by  trusting  and  feeding  upon 
Christ  that  we  grow.  We  get  life  by  looking,  and 
likeness  by  continuing  to  look  ;  life  by  trusting,  and 
likeness  by  feeding.  It  is  better  that  love  draw  us 
than  that  duty  drive  us.  Thirdly,  by  having  an  eye 
on  this  day  of  coming  manifestation.  It  is  not  every 
one  that  hath  a  hope,  but  every  one  ' '  that  hath  this 
hope,  purifieth  himself."  This  hope  kindles  our  aspi- 
rations, quickens  our  energies,  ennobles  our  motives, 
and  molds  our  present  purposes.  Christ  has  deter- 
mined to  come  again  and  make  us  like  himself.  A 
knowledge  of  this  manner  of  love,  and  a  hope  based 
upon  this  promise,  become  a  power  in  our  lives. 
Fourthly,  by  recognizing  and  relying  upon  the  Holy 
Spirit,  now  dwelling  in  our  bodies.  He  is  the  power  of 
God,  ever  present  to  help  and  to  keep.  This  power 
becomes  our  own  as  we  appropriate  it,  count  upon  it, 
and  use  it. 

When  this  glory  comes  to  the  whole  of  the  redeemed 
race,  the  final  purpose  of  creation  will  have  been 
reached,  the  "  one  far-off  divine  event  to  which  the 
whole  creation  moves."  God  became  man  that  he 
might  be  introduced  to  the  race.  He  was  made  like 
unto  us  that  we  might  be  made  like  unto  him.  Greek 
theologians  were  bold  in  saying,  '  *  God  was  humanized 
that  man  might  be  deified."  Not  that  we  become  par- 
takers of  his  essence,  but  we  become  like  him  in  our 
character.     The  great  end  that  God  had  in  view,  when 


WHAT  WE  ARE  AND  WHAT  WE  SHALL  BE    121 

he  made  man  in  his  image,  male  and  female,  will  then 
be  realized.  It  will  come  in  a  higher  sense  than  could 
have  been  possible  if  sin  had  not  entered  into  the 
world.  Man  will  then  be  the  perfect  image  of  God, 
male  and  female,  yet  one.  The  new  man  will  be  Christ, 
the  head  and  bridegroom,  and  the  church,  the  body 
and  bride,  absolutely  like  God,  in  Christ,  *'  the  fulness 
of  him  that  fiUeth  all  in  all." 


CHAPTER  IX 

SIN   AND    RIGHTEOUSNESS 

We  have  had  the  children,  as  a  family, 

1  John  3 : 4-12  ,  .,      -.^'.       ,      ^'^' 

at  home  with  their  J^  ather,  in  the  hrst 

and   second   chapters.      This  was   in  view  of  a  past 

revelation   of  God   leading   to   a   participation  in  his 

nature.     We  are  now  to  look  at  this  same  family  in 

its  life  and  associations  down  here  upon  the  earth,  but 

in  daily  expectation  of  a  more  glorious  revelation  of 

God  in  the  future.     Before  the  relationship  to  each 

other  and  to  the  world  is  unfolded,  the  apostle  shows 

what  this  family  is  to  God  here  and  now,  and  to  what 

glory  he  will  exalt  it  by  and  by.     It  is  grace  first, 

truth  afterward. 

As  we  have  seen,  this  family  now  partakes  of  the 
divine  nature,  and  its  members  are  children  of  God,  in 
title  and  in  reality.  But,  in  their  relation  to  the  world 
they  are  not  recognized,  even  as  their  Master  was  not 
recognized.  As  to  the  future,  we  are  not  told  what  the 
exact  character  of  their  glory  will  be  ;  that  is  not  re- 
vealed. We  only  know  that  we  shall  be  like  God  in 
Christ  when  he  is  manifested.  The  world  does  not 
know  who  we  are  now,  and  we  do  not  know  what  we 
shall  be  hereafter. 

The  practical  outcome  of  faith  in  the  past  manifesta- 
122 


SIN    AND    RIGHTEOUSNESS  123 

tion  of  God,  and  of  hope  respecting  the  future,  is  that 
we  should  purify  ourselves  up  to  the  measure  of  him  in 
whose  likeness  we  shall  yet  be  manifested.  AVe  should 
strive  to  be  now,  in  present  attainment,  pure  like  the 
One  into  whose  very  image  we  shall  be  transformed 
then. 

In  our  present  study,  the  connection  is  with  "  puri- 
fieth  himself.' '  The  opposite  of  making  one's  self  pure 
is  indulging  in  sin.  *'  He  that  doeth  sin  "  represents 
the  actual  realization  of  sin  as  something  which  is  defi- 
nitely brought  about  in  the  life.  The  man  who  does 
bring  about  sin  also  commits  lawlessness.  That  is,  he 
that  doeth  sin,  or  misseth  the  mark  (as  the  w^ord 
means),  or  acts  so  that  his  life  misses  the  mark,  this 
man  is  committing  lawlessness.  He  disregards  the  law, 
and  conducts  himself  as  if  there  were  no  law.  It  is 
something  deeper  than  transgressing  the  law,  as  trans- 
lated by  the  old  version.  That  ''transgression"  con- 
veyed the  idea  of  an  outward  law  that  was  crossed, 
but  John's  conception  here  is  more  searching.  Sin 
was  in  the  world  from  Adam  to  Moses  before  the  law 
was  given,  and  therefore  before  it  could  be  trans- 
gressed.^ The  nature  of  man  is  lawless,  and  every  ex- 
pression of  that  nature  is  sin,  even  before  a  law  is  vio- 
lated. 

The  man  who  realizes  sin  in  act  manifests  the  asser- 
tion of  a  selfish  will  against  a  paramount  authority. 
Law  is  applied  to  our  personal  being,  as  well  as  to  our 
relations  to  man,  to  things  without,  and  to  God.      The 

1  Rom.  5  :  12. 


124  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

law  of  Moses  took  notice  of  man's  dealing  with  him- 
self, with  other  men,  with  animals,  with  harvests,  and 
also  of  his  dnty  to  God.  Any  violation  of  any  of  these 
laws,  as  to  self,  as  to  our  fellow-creatures,  as  to  prop- 
erty, or  as  to  God,  is  sin,  or  a  missing  of  the  mark. 
The  origin  of  sin  is  selfishness.  When,  therefore,  any 
one  acts  as  if  he  had  no  superior,  his  own  will  becomes 
his  ruler,  and  there  is  lawlessness,  for  in  such  a  case 
there  is  no  respect  to  any  rule  outside  of  self.  The 
Christian  especially  should  ever  have  his  eye  directed 
upward  to  his  Lord,  and  not  inward  to  his  own  will. 
He  knows  and  believes  in  the  love  of  God,  and  should 
therefore  permit  God  to  choose  his  path  and  direct  his 
steps.  He  has  nothing  to  fear  but  everything  to  gain 
from  obedience  to  the  will  of  God.  To  refuse  to  be 
guided  thus  by  the  will  and  word  of  God  is  the  widest 
missing  of  the  true  mark  possible  to  man. 

Again,  sin  in  the  Christian  sets  at  naught  the  mission 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  His  whole  manifestation, 
from  his  birth  to  his  ascension,  contributed  to  the  put- 
ting away  of  sin.  By  one  act  of  obedience,  ending  in 
death  on  the  cross,  he  took  away  our  sins  once  and  for- 
ever. Being  the  sinless  one,  he  was  fitted  to  take 
upon  himself  the  task  of  removing  sin.  Accordingly, 
his  mission  will  not  reach  its  end  and  aim  until  we  are 
personally  kept  from  a  continuance  in  sinful  acts. 

Having  no  sin  in  him  explains  both  how  he  could 
put  away  sin,  and  also  how  sin  in  us  is  inconsistent  with 
fellowship  with  him.  Hence  the  necessity  of  the  blood 
to  cleanse,  even  while  walking  in  the  light.     He  was 


SIN    AND    RIGHTEOUSNESS  125 

absolutely  spotless  in  his  character,  and  partnership 
with  him  implies  a  departure  from  the  practice  of  sin. 
''Whosoeve7'  abideth  in  him  sinnetli  not  " — is  not  a  doer 
of  sin.  It  is  inconsistent  to  say  that  we  can  abide  in  a 
sinless  Christ  and  yet  proceed  in  a  sinful  course.  To 
the  full  extent  of  our  abiding  in  Christ  shall  we  be  kept 
from  the  practice  of  sin.  The  sinless  life  of  Christ, 
and  the  sinful  life  of  the  believer  exclude  each  other. 
Abiding  in  him  implies  sinning  not,  just  as  walking  in 
the  light  implies  hating  not.  This  describes  a  prevail- 
ing characteristic  of  the  believer,  and  does  not  refer  to 
an  exceptional  act.  There  may  be  sinful  acts,  but 
there  cannot  be  a  sinful  character  while  abiding  in  the 
sinless  One — the  prevailing  habit  is  not  that  of  a  sin- 
ning one. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  perpetual  doing  of  sin  pre- 
cludes the  reality  of  a  professed  knowledge  of  Christ. 
Every  one  who  habitually  sins  (for  that  is  the  force  of 
the  present  tense  here),  shows  by  that  conduct  that  he 
has  neither  seen  nor  known  the  Lord.  This  seems  to 
be  directed  against  some  false  teachers  who  had  seen 
the  Lord  in  the  flesh.  They  saw  his  body,  but  they 
never  perceived  nor  understood  him.  It  is  that  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  him  in  his  fullness,  meeting  the 
depth  and  variety  of  our  need,  that  the  doer  of  sin 
knows  nothing  about. 

John  again  assumes  his  paternal  familiarity,  "Little 
children,  let  no  man  lead  you  astray.''  The  tenderness 
of  the  address  grows  out  of  the  peril  which  John  saw 
in  the  situation.     Professing  to  have  a  knowledge  of 


126  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

God,  and  yet  to  persist  iu  the  practice  of  sin,  was  ab- 
horrent to  the  apostle  and  hazardous  to  the  disciple. 

^'  He  that  doeth  rigliteousness  is  righteous,  even  as  he 
is  righteous.^'  This  is  startling,  indeed,  to  be  put  on  a 
plane  by  the  side  of  God.  But  John  uses  this  same 
language  seven  times  in  his  writings,  and  it  occurs  no- 
where else.  "They  are  not  of  the  w^orld  even  as" 
Christ  is  not  of  the  world  ;  he  has  given  us  an  exam- 
ple that  we  should  "do  as  he  has  done  "  ;  we  are  "  to 
love  one  another  as ' '  he  hath  loved  us  ;  we  are  under 
obligation  ' '  to  walk  as  he  walked  ' '  ;  having  hope,  we 
should  purify  "  ourselves  as  he  is  pure  "  ;  and  we  are 
assured  that  "as  he  is,  so  are  we  in  this  world." 
Wonderful  grace  from  God  is  this,  but  solemn  responsi- 
bility to  us  !  To  be  a  habitual  doer  of  righteousness, 
in  its  rounded  completeness,  is  to  manifest  a  righteous 
character,  as  God  in  Christ  is  righteous.  The  life  in 
us  is  the  same  as  it  is  in  him.  This  is  the  root  of  the 
personal  character  which  underlies  the  outward  deeds, 
just  as  the  nature  of  the  tree  exists  beneath  its  fruit. 
The  one  life  in  Christ  produced  the  one  fruit  of  obe- 
dient love  ;  and  when  that  life  is  begotten  in  us,  its 
fruit  will  be  no  different  in  character  than  when  seen  in 
him.  It  is  "  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit,"  but  never  do  the 
Scriptures  speak  of  fruits,  either  in  him  or  in  us. 

Then  follows  one  of  those  many  contrasts  seen  in  this 
Epistle.  Just  as  the  doing  of  righteousness  shows  our 
connection  with  Christ,  so  the  doing  of  sin  shows  our 
connection  with  the  devil.  Sin  is  lawlessness,  but  the 
doer  of  sin  is  of  the  devil.     And  this  corresponds  with 


SIN    AND    RIGHTEOUSNESS  127 

the  words  of  our  Lord  :  "Ye  are  of  your  father,  the 
devil,  and  his  works  ye  do,"  "  ye  are  from  beneath," 
"  ye  are  of  this  world." 

Here  we  are  face  to  face  with  the  7'oots  of  things. 
Paul,  in  tracing  sin,  goes  back  to  Adam,^  but  John 
goes  back  to  the  one  who  instilled  his  lies  into  Adam's 
heart  and  made  him  what  he  became.  Sin  is  thus 
traced  back  to  its  personal  source,  but  we  have  no  hint 
as  to  how  or  why  sin  originated  in  that  person.  We 
only  know  that  the  devil  fashioned,  but  did  not  create 
the  world  of  mankind  that  began  in  disobedience  ;  and 
we  also  know  that  the  one  who  continues  in  the  doing 
of  sin,  draws  the  ruling  principle  of  his  life  from  him. 
Whatever  "  beginning"  ^  may  be  intended,  it  is  abso- 
lutely certain  that  this  great  adversary  has  been  sinning 
ever  since  the  creation  of  man.  And  so  from  the  be- 
ginning of  human  society,  from  the  commencement  of 
the  world  of  man,  the  devil  has  been  engaged  in  one 
long-continued  act  of  sin.  To  be  a  doer  of  sin  is, 
therefore,  to  be  in  league  with  this  adversary  of  God. 
The  outward  conduct  shows  the  inward  spring  of  life. 

Now  "  the  Son  of  Gpd  ivas  manifested  that  he  might 
destroy  the  works  of  the  devil. ' '  If  any  professed  fol- 
lower of  Christ  is  a  doer  of  sin,  it  is  evident  that  in  his 
case  the  work  of  Christ  has  not  yet  been  accomplished. 
This  is  the  first  instance  in  which  Jesus  is  called  the 
Son   of  God   in   our   Epistle.     From    this   point   the 


1  Rom.  5  :  14. 

2  The  word  translated  "  murderer  "  in  John  8  :  44  is  man-killer  in  the 
original.    This  limits  "  beginning  "  to  human  history. 


128  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

higher  title  is  commonly  iised.^  The  second  Adam 
could  answer  the  first  Adam,  but  it  required  the  Son  of 
God  to  meet  and  master  the  master  of  Adam.  In 
Scripture  and  in  history  Satan  and  the  Son  of  God  are 
always  brought  into  personal  antagonism  :  Satan  is  a 
liar,  Christ  is  the  truth  ;  Satan  a  murderer,  Christ  the 
life-giver  ;  Satan  the  prince  of  darkness,  Christ  the 
Light  of  the  world  ;  Satan  is  the  god  of  this  age,  Christ 
is  the  ruler  of  the  age  to  come. 

When  the  question  of  sins,  growing  out  of  the  law- 
lessness within  us,  is  considered,  John  says  that  Jesus 
* '  was  manifested  to  take  away  sins. ' '  This  was  an  act 
accomplished  once  for  all  upon  the  cross.  But  now 
man  is  looked  upon  as  linked  to  the  devil — organically 
united  to  the  world  he  has  formed  and  also  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  sin.  Here,  evidently,  something  more 
than  the  guilt  of  sin  is  under  consideration.  Accord- 
ingly "the  Son  of  God  was  manifested  to  destroy." 
This  word  means  to  dissolve,  to  untie,  to  unloose  "  the 
works  of  the  devil."  ^ 

Christ  has  been  manifested  to  put  away  the  guilt  of 
sin  as  a  Saviour  between  God  and  man.  This  was  the 
God -ward  side  of  his  work.  But  man  is  under  the  de- 
lusion of  Satan  ;  his  mind  and  heart  are  all  tied  up  and 
tangled  in  falsehoods.  He  is  in  Satan's  kingdom,  well 
organized,  but  it  is  the  organism  of  death.  Nothing 
short  of  the  manifestation  of  the  Son  of  God  can  dis- 
solve this  closely  jointed  kingdom  of  darkness. 


M  :  15  ;  5  :  5,  20. 
2  Acts  27  •  41 ;  Eph.  2  :  14  ;  2  Peter  3  :  10-12. 


SIN    AND    RIGHTEOUSNESS  129 

What  are  these  works  of  the  devil  ?  To  understand 
this  question  will  help  us  to  see  how  God,  manifested  in 
the  flesh,  dissolves  them.  It  is  evident  that  we  need 
not  go  to  criminal  courts  or  to  the  criminal  classes  to 
find  them.  They  are  in  the  palaces  of  princes  as  well  as 
in  the  cottages  of  peasants — in  the  homes  of  the  rich  as 
well  as  in  the  hovels  of  the  poor.  The  fact  is,  Satan 
came  into  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  succeeded  in  putting 
his  toils  about  our  first  parents,  and  the  whole  race  is 
entangled  still.  He  ensnared  them  in  a  lie  and  they 
fell.  Carlyle  says,  "a  lie  always  ends  in  a  broken 
head  for  some  one  before  it  reaches  its  journey's  end." 
It  was  so  here.  No  one  knows  to  what  glory  man 
might  have  attained  had  he  not  been  tripped  by  the 
wiles  of  the  devil.  We  only  know  the  sad  results  of 
the  fall,  and  the  grace  that  meets  its  ruin.  In  the 
fourteenth  Psalm  w^e  see  the  picture  drawn  by  a  divine 
artist.  Man  begins  with  ' '  no  God ' '  and  descends 
through  a  terrible  catalogue  of  sins  until  he  ends  with 
no  one  willing  ' '  to  seek  after  God  and  none  that  doeth 
good."  This  is  the  picture  of  the  man  Adam.  He 
began  by  setting  God  aside  to  accept  the  leadership  of 
another.  He  did  not  want  God  then,  and  men  do  not 
want  him  now.  It  was  separation  from  God  in  the  be- 
ginning, and  it  terminated  in  union  wdth  the  devil  in 
the  end. 

The  great  difficulty  is  to  bring  men  back  to  God,  and 
this  was  the  stupendous  Avork  undertaken  by  Christ. 
Man  was  turned  away  from  God,  but  from  the  beginning 
Jesus  was  face  to  face  with  God  (-/x)?  rov  dew — -jj?'os  ton 


130  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

theoii).^  He  came  into  the  world  with  a  heart  still  loyal 
to  the  Father,  and,  because  loyal,  turned  in  love  toward 
men.  He  came  to  express  the  love  of  God  to  man,  to 
contradict  the  lie  of  the  evil  one,  and  thus  to  undo  and 
dissolve  his  works.  He  came  to  take  man  out  from 
under  the  thraldom  of  the  devils'  yoke,  and  to  bring  him 
under  the  power  of  God's  liberating  truth.  He  came 
to  take  him  out  of  a  false  world  and  to  put  him  into 
the  true  and  real  world.  Hence  to  know  the  truth  is 
to  be  made  free. 

The  first  great  need  was  to  remove  man's  false  no- 
tions of  God.  Eve  was  deluded  to  believe  that  God 
was  ungracious  and  did  not  love  her,  and  hence  the  ex- 
clusion from  one  of  the  trees  in  the  garden.  She  was 
also  persuaded  that  disobedience  was  a  trifle  and  that 
she  might  eat  of  the  forbidden  fruit  and  yet  live.  The 
coming  of  Christ  revealed  the  fervent  love  and  the  spot- 
less holiness  of  God.  He  was  himself,  in  life  and  in 
death,  the  expression  of  the  love  glowing  in  the 
Father's  heart.  His  w^ork  and  his  words  were  a  testi- 
mony to  man  to  remove  the  slander  on  God's  character 
which  was  thrust  upon  man  in  Eden,  and  which  is  still 
throwing  its  pall  over  the  world.  It  is  the  basis  of  all 
heathen  worship  to-day.  These  poor,  devil -ridden  people 
believe  God  to  be  a  hateful  and  hating  being — a  monster 
to  be  appeased.  Its  basest  form  is  the  devil  worship  which 
has  recently  come  from  the  ' '  habitations  of  cruelty, ' ' 
and  is  now  established  in  Paris,  the  center  of  modern 
civilization.  It  is  at  the  basis  of  the  falsehood  running 
1  John  1  : 1. 


SIN    AND    RIGHTEOUSNESS  131 

all  through  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  The  God  of 
this  church  is  so  unloving  and  hard  of  heart  that  he  can 
only  be  reached  by  a  species  of  diplomacy.  If  one  can 
go  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  she  ^vill  intercede  with  her  Son, 
and  the  Son  with  his  Father,  and  thus  the  unfeeling 
tyrant  may  be  persuaded  into  acts  of  mercy  contrary  to 
his  wish  or  way.     Horrible  travesty  of  infinite  love  ! 

But  the  life  and  death  of  Christ  also  testify  that  God 
is  light,  that  in  him  there  is  nothing  wrong  and  lie  can 
tolerate  nothing  wrong  in  others.  His  law  cannot  be 
violated  with  impunity,  and  an  inward  character  that 
is  out  of  harmony  with  his  holiness  contains  in  itself 
the  source  of  its  own  condemnation  and  destruction. 
When  Jesus  became  ' '  sin  for  us  ' '  although  he  23er- 
sonally  ''knew  no  sin,"  when  it  "pleased  Jehovah  to 
bruise  him  and  to  make  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin," 
and  when  by  our  redemption  he  became  "a  curse  for 
us ' '  then  it  became  plain  to  the  world  of  men  and  to 
the  universe  of  God  that  disobedience  is  no  trifle,  that 
only  "fools  make  a  mock  at  sin,"  and  that  every  one 
who  eats  of  that  which  is  forbidden  he  ' '  shall  surely 
die. ' ' 

Thus  Jesus  testifies  that  God  is  love  and  is  light — 
absolutely  holy — and  he  can  suffer  no  wrong  to  go  un- 
whipped  of  its  reward.  By  this  testimony  he  wakens 
man  to  a  sense  of  his  guilt  and  danger  and  also  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  way  to  return  to  God  in  the  simplest 
confidence.  The  entanglement  and  ruin  of  the  race 
began  in  wrong  thoughts  about  God  and  about  disobe- 
dience to  his  commands.     The  deliverance  and  restora- 

K 


132  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

tion  must  begin  at  the  same  point.  The  devil's  lie  was 
the  source  of  the  ruin  ;  the  true  revelation  of  the  true 
God  is  the  source  of  the  remedy. 

Moreover,  he  testifies  to  God  of  what  men  may  be- 
come, by  being  the  Head  of  the  new  race  as  well  as  ' '  the 
express  image"  of  God.  Jesus  Christ  was  the  second 
Adam,  the  second  Head  of  the  race,  and  every  man  who 
receives  him  as  Saviour  will  ultimately  become  as  he  is 
now.  God  sees  what  man  will  yet  become,  and  man 
sees  what  God  was  and  is,  and  will  be  forever,  in  Jesus 
Christ.  More  than  this,  Jesus  being  the  Mediator  be- 
tween God  and  man,  and  being  absolutely  holy,  he 
provided  a  channel  for  the  unhindered  flow  of  the 
boundless  love  of  God  to  man.  Accordingly,  man  is 
delivered  from  the  delusion  about  God,  and  believes  in 
a  God  of  absolute  holiness  and  infinite  love  ;  and  be- 
lieving, trusts,  loves,  and  adores.  So  that  in  him  the 
works  of  the  devil  are  destroyed. 

Then  to  complete  this  undoing  of  the  Avorks  of  the 
devil,  when  we  are  led  to  believe  in  this  unfolding  of 
God  and  to  trust  the  One  through  whom  it  was  made, 
the  Holy  Spirit  imparts  the  divine  life  to  us  and  illu- 
minates the  whole  inner  world  of  our  being.  The  life 
which  he  begets  by  the  word  of  God  he  remains  to  feed 
and  nourish.  He  supplies  our  inner  man  with  a  strength 
corresponding  to  that  by  which  Christ  was  raised  from 
the  dead.  We  are  thus  delivered  from  the  delusions  of 
the  devil  about  the  character  of  God,  from  the  choice 
of  evil  in  our  hearts,  from  its  power  and  practice  in 
our  lives.     We  are  ''delivered   out  of  the  power  of 


SIN    AND    RIGHTEOUSNESS  133 

darkness  and  translated  into  the  kingdom  of  the  Son  of 
his  love. "  * 

This  opens  the  way  to  understand  the  ninth  verse. 
^^  Whosoever  is  begotten  of  God  doeth  no  sin,''  or  per- 
haps a  better  rendering  would  be,  is  not  a  doer  of  sin, 
"because  his  seed  abideth  in  him,  and  he  cannot  sin  (be 
sinning)  because  he  is  begotten  of  God."  This  gives 
the  force  of  the  Greek  here,  and  removes  many  difficul- 
ties. Every  believer  is  created  a  new  man,  and  by  this 
means  he  gets  the  fulfillment  of  the  new  covenant,  ' '  I 
will  write  my  laws  upon  their  hearts. ' '  All  the  desires, 
impulses,  and  tendencies  of  this  new  man  are  perfect, 
according  to  the  perfection  of  God.  This  is  the  result 
of  the  new  birth  through  the  life-giving  Christ.  "His 
seed"  is  the  word  by  which  the  new  life  is  begotten. 
It  is  dropped  into  the  soul  of  man,  and  taken  up  by 
divine  power  and  developed  into  conduct.  It  remains 
as  the  abiding  power,  precluding  the  practice  of  sin. 
One  who  is  thus  renewed  and  illuminated  by  the  Holy 
Spirit — who,  being  begotten,  has  his  birth  from  God 
abiding  in  him — will  not,  cannot,  continue  in  the  path 
and  practice  of  sin.  It  is  continuance  in  sin,  and  not 
the  act  of  sin,  that  is  under  consideration  here.  Who- 
soever is  born  of  God  does  not  habitually  sin — he  can- 
not be  constantly  and  characteristically  sinning. 

It  is  barely  possible  that  "  his  seed  abideth  in  him  " 
refers  to  the  fact  that  God's  children  are  here  called 


1  It  is  probable  that  the  apostle  had  also  in  view  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead  and  the  creation  of  all  things  new,  as  the  result  of  the  work  of 
the  Son  of  God.— Rev.  21 : 1-8. 


134  THE   FIRST   EPISTLE   OF   JOHN 

' '  his  seed  ' '  who  abide  in  God  and  therefore  do  not 
practise  sin.  Abiding  in  God  and  sinning  are  contra- 
dictory terms.  This  thought  is  in  harmony  with  John's 
teaching  elsewhere,  although  the  other  sense  is  more 
natural  and  commends  itself  to  acceptance. 

We  have  a  fixed  condition  given  to  us  in  the  heavens 
in  Christ,  and  we  also  have  planted  in  us  fixed  habits 
of  thought,  feeling,  and  action  on  earth,  so  that  we  may 
become  radically  difierent  from  all  who  know  not  God. 
There  is  not  a  moral  characteristic  that  may  finally 
attach  to  us  in  heaven,  of  which  the  germ  is  not  found 
in  us  now,  by  virtue  of  the  new  man.  The  opposite  is 
equally  true.  The  seed  of  every  evil  that  may  be  seen 
among  men  now,  or  that  may  be  unfolded  hereafter,  is 
already  in  our  flesh.  Indeed,  it  is  a  grave  question 
whether  we  have  not  by  nature,  in  germinal  fonn,  every 
evil  that  may  be  fully  developed  in  Satan  himself. 

Hence  the  difierent  relation  of  believers  and  unbe- 
lievers to  evil  and  to  good  is  essential,  inherent,  and 
abiding.  He  that  is  a  doer  of  sin  is  of  the  devil,  but 
every  one  that  is  begotten  of  God  is  not  a  doer  of  sin. 
He  may  commit  acts  of  sin,  but  he  will  not  habitually 
continue  sinning.  The  man  who  characteristically  sins 
shows  that  he  is  not  of  God,  but  receives  his  inspiration 
from  the  devil.  The  man  who  is  born  of  God,  on  the 
other  hand,  will  not  be  a  perpetual  doer  of  evil.  The 
apostle  does  not  say  that  the  believer  never  sins.  He 
says  the  contrary  in  the  first  chapter,  and  has  made 
known  the  source  of  security  to  the  believer  in  spite  of 
sin,  by  virtue  of  the  blood  and  the  person  of  our  ador- 


SIN    AND    RIGHTEOUSNESS  135 

able  Lord.  Here  he  means  to  insist  that  no  believer 
habitually  continues  in  the  path  of  sin.  And  this  tes- 
timony is  true. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  God  gives  himself  to  us.  He 
does  not  merely  work  upon  us  as  a  sculptor,  on  a  statue. 
He  works  in  us,  imparts  his  own  life,  called  the  new 
man,  and  this  life  finally  matures  under  his  guiding 
hand.  On  account  of  this,  the  manifestation  of  the 
children  of  God  from  the  children  of  the  devil  becomes 
natural  and  necessary.  Every  one  that  is  not  a  doer  of 
righteousness  and  that  loveth  not  his  brother  is  not  of 
God.  The  child  of  God  is  not  merely  a  passive  being 
doing  ill  to  no  one,  but  a  righteous  and  loving  man  do- 
ing right  and  good  to  all  men. 

He  must  do  the  things  that  are  right,  and  he  must 
acknowledge  the  ties  established  by  Christ.  In  other 
words,  he  must  acknowledge  the  laws  of  the  original 
creation  of  man,  and  also  the  laws  of  redemption. 
These  laws  are  righteousness  and  love.  Righteousness 
belonged  originally  to  creation.  Love  flows  out  of  re- 
demption. Righteousness  is  the  fulfillment  of  the  law 
toward  God  and  toward  man  on  earth.  But  the  love 
of  the  Christian  for  the  Christian  grows  out  of  the 
sense  of  divine  fellowship  brought  in  by  the  redemption 
of  Christ.  It  is  a  love  of  brother  for  brother,  within 
the  limits  of  those  who  are  begotten  of  God.  Hence,  he 
who  does  not  love  his  brother  has,  strictly  speaking,  no 
brother  in  the  Christian  family  to  love.  He  is  himself 
outside  of  the  Christian  family. 

Ifow,  the  whole  aim  of  the  message — that  which  was 


136  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

received  from  the  Word  of  life  which  John  saw,  gazed 
upon,  and  handled — is,  that  we  may  love  one  another. 
The  whole  aim  of  that  which  was  revealed  by  Christ,  in 
life  and  in  death,  is  to  save  men  from  selfishness,  and  to 
lead  them  to  self-sacrifice — in  other  words,  to  awaken 
in  them  love  one  for  another.  The  message  is  light,  its 
fruit  is  love.  Had  sin  never  entered  into  the  world, — 
had  man  never  needed  grace, — then  righteousness  would 
have  been  the  mold  in  which  the  life  of  man  had  run. 
But  the  introduction  of  sin  made  grace  a  necessity. 
This  grace  was  the  channel  for  the  outflow  of  divine 
love.  Love  coming  to  us,  saving  us,  and  putting  us 
before  God  on  a  new  foundation,  places  upon  us  the 
obligation  of  having  our  whole  conduct  based  upon  love, 
and  love  exceeds  righteousness  always. 

This  message  of  mercy  was  the  light  of  the  race  at 
its  fountain  head.  Cain,  who  ''  was  of  the  evil  one," 
showed  his  connection  with  the  devil  by  his  hatred  of 
righteousness,  and  want  of  love  for  his  brother.  Just 
as  God  is  the  fountain  out  of  which  righteousness  and 
love  come,  so  the  devil  is  the  fountain  out  of  which  sin 
and  hatred  flow.  Cain  hated  righteousness  in  his  own 
brother.  He  was  to  Abel  what  the  world  was  to  Jesus 
— "  That  upon  this  generation  may  come  all  the  right- 
eous blood  from  the  blood  of  Abel."  The  sons  of  the 
evil  one  are  * '  hateful,  and  hate  one  another. ' '  It  was 
the  contrast  that  Cain  saw  between  himself  and  his 
brother  that  moved  his  anger,  culminating  in  his  fearful 
crime.  It  was  not  because  Cain  was  bloodthirsty  or 
passionate  that  he  became  a  murderer  ;  but  because  his 


SIN    AND    KIGHTEOUSNESS  137 

own  "works  were  evil  and  his  brother's  righteous." 
You  grant  a  consciousness  of  wrong-doing  and  a  stub- 
born heart  ;  let  light  come  in  to  quicken  the  conscience, 
while  still  leaving  a  proud  and  hardened  heart,  and  you 
will  have  the  beginnings  of  another  scene  of  hatred  that 
may  end  in  violence. 

And  this  may  rise  up  even  among  professed  Chris- 
tians. If  you  know  of  a  single  child  of  God  who  irri- 
tates you  with  his  presence,  because  of  his  holiness  of 
life,  danger  is  near.  Ahab  tolerated  four  hundred  false 
prophets,  but  there  was  one,  Micaiah,  of  whom  he  said  : 
*'  I  hate  him,  for  he  doth  prophesy  evil  concerning  me. " 
It  is  the  rebuke  administered  to  our  shortcomings, 
whether  tacit  or  spoken,  that  inspires  hatred.  To 
awaken  to  a  consciousness  of  something  wrong  in  us  be- 
cause of  the  light  of  a  holy  life  moving  near  us,  will 
irritate  a  perverse  nature  to  the  point  of  hatred,  and 
tJiere  is  the  beginning  of  another  Cain.     Let  us  beware. 


CHAPTER  X 


LOVE    AND    HATRED 


1  John  3  :  13-18 


In  our  last  chapter  we  saw  the  two 
families  w^hich  live  upon  the  earth — 
the  one  "  born  of  God  "  and  the  other  *'  of  the  devil." 
These  two  families  are  set  forth  at  the  very  beginning 
of  human  history  by  Cain  and  Abel.  Cain,  the  first- 
born, represented  the  flesh,  and  was  of  the  evil  one, 
while  Abel,  the  second-born,  represented  the  Spirit,  and 
was  of  God.  In  the  Scriptures  first  things  are  gener- 
ally set  aside  and  the  second,  elected  to  honor — that 
which  is  natural  comes  first,  afterward  that  which  is 
spiritual.     It  was  so  here. 

We  saw  also  that  faith,  leading  to  the  practice  of 
righteousness  and  love,  is  the  essential  mark  of  the 
family  of  God.  These  qualities  are  met  by  unbelief, 
sinning,  and  hatred,  as  the  characteristics  of  the  family 
of  the  devil. 

Now  this  hatred  becomes  a  grim  fact,  to  be  faced  by 
those  w^ho  possess  life  in  Christ  and  are  filled  with  love. 
Those  who  remain  in  spiritual  death  show  the  nature  of 
their  death  by  the  destructiveness  of  their  conduct. 
The  terrible  action  of  Cain  in  murdering  his  brother 
out  of  envy,  is  repeated  in  the  world  to-day. 

In  the  first  verse  of  this  chapter,  we  are  assured  that 
138 


LOVE    AND    HATRED  139 

we  are  the  children  of  God,  even  if  the  world  does  not 
come  to  understand  that  fact.  Here  the  apostle  goes 
farther  and  exhorts  us  not  to  be  filled  with  wonder,  even 
if  the  world  hate  us.  We  know  intuitively  that  we  have 
passed  from  death  unto  life  because  we  love  the  breth- 
ren. The  fact  of  brotherly  love  is  the  evidence  of  dwell- 
ing in  the  sphere  of  life.  So  we  need  not  be  disturbed 
by  any  lack  of  recognition  of  our  standing  in  the  fam- 
ily of  God,  on  the  part  of  those  who  belong  to  the  fam- 
ily of  death  and  darkness,  nor  need  we  marvel  if  they 
hate  us. 

In  the  thirteenth  verse  we  see  the  introduction  of  the 
term  "  brethren,"  and  it  is  new.  It  is  a  word  that  is 
constantly  used  by  Paul,  but  it  never  appears  again  in 
our  Epistle.  It  stands  for  the  thought  of  Christian 
equality,  because  of  a  common  life,  just  as  "  children  " 
indicates  spiritual  dependence  and  the  promise  of 
growth,  and  ' '  little  ones  ' '  indicates  subordination  and 
immaturity.  And  this  is  the  thought  so  constantly  be- 
fore the  mind  of  John. 

The  consciousness  of  love  for  Christians  as  Chris- 
tians and  because  they  are  Christians,  is  proof  to  us 
that  we  have  entered  upon  the  new  life.  In  fact,  it 
shows  that  we  are  now  in  possession  of  the  new  life. 
The  passage  from  death  to  life  is  made,  and  this  new 
emotion  of  love  is  proof  of  the  existence  of  life  in  the 
heart  and  also  of  our  translation  out  of  the  region  of 
death  into  the  kingdom  of  life.  Love  is  the  sign  and 
not  the  instrument  of  our  passage  from  the  one  sphere 
to  the  other. 


140  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

Men  live  either  in  the  sphere  of  death  wliich  is  truly 
death,  or  in  the  sphere  of  life  which  is  truly  life.  Those 
who  are  once  born  are  still  in  the  sphere  of  death,  al- 
though they  have  natural  life.  Those  who  are  twice 
born,  or  born  from  above  as  well  as  from  beneath,  move 
in  the  sphere  of  spiritual  life.  To  be  in  the  sphere  of 
death  is  to  be  separated  from  God  and  alienated  from 
men.  Death,  in  its  last  analysis,  means  separation, 
and  spiritual  death  is  separation  from  both  God  and 
man.  To  be  in  the  sphere  of  life  is  to  be  united  with 
God  and  to  love  the  brethren.  Life,  in  its  last  analy- 
sis, is  organic  union,  and  spiritual  life  is  union  with 
God  and  man.  He  that  loveth  not — that  is,  he  who  is 
not  habitually  and  characteristically  loving — abides  in 
death.  He  abides  in  that  death  which  is  separation 
from  God  and  man.  It  must  be  so,  because  the  essence 
of  the  divine  life  is  love.  Life  and  love  seem  to  the 
mind  of  John  to  be  convertible  terms. 

John  speaks  of  the  hatred  of  the  world,  which  is  to 
be  expected.  It  is  the  normal  condition  of  our  world  to 
hate.  He  also  says  that  hatred  may  sometimes  find  a 
place  among  the  professed  brethren.  There  will  be 
Cains  coming  to  worship  among  the  new  family,  born 
from  above.  Such  hatred  among  professed  believers  is 
not  only  a  mark  of  having  their  root  in  death,  but  also 
a  mark  that  they  have  the  seed  of  murder  in  their 
hearts.  It  is  a  state  of  death  and  separation  from  God 
and  therefore  of  separation  from  man.  Hatred  in- 
volves the  destruction  of  the  life  of  love  in  self  and  also, 
the  brethren  who  possess  that  life.     A  hater  has  al- 


LOVE    AND    HATRED  141 

ready  destroyed  love  in  his  own  heart,  and  he  may  also 
destroy  the  one  in  whose  heart  love  is  seen. 

But,  immediately  after  communion  with  God  is  estab- 
lished, love  flows  out  toward  the  brethren.  This  com- 
munion is  life,  and  life  organizes  itself  into  union  with 
both  God  and  man.  The  one  who  hates  cuts  himself 
off"  from  God  and  also  from  the  universe.  Hatred  is 
murder  in  the  heart.  Just  as  the  ten  commandments 
are  opposed  to  the  act  of  murder  in  the  conduct,  so  the 
revelation  of  the  gospel  is  opposed  to  the  principle  of 
murder  in  the  heart.  The  law  pronounces  vengeance 
on  the  crime  of  the  murderer's  hand;  the  life  manifested 
in  Christ  is  opposed  to  hatred  in  the  heart,  which  pro- 
duces murder  in  the  act.  The  commandments  reach  the 
conduct,  but  the  life  and  the  gospel  came  from  the 
heart  of  God  and  reach  the  heart  of  man.  Thus  the 
gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  supersedes  the  law,  just  as 
the  light  of  the  sun  supersedes  the  light  of  the  stars, 
by  virtue  of  its  surpassing  glory.  The  law  touches 
the  act,  the  gospel  goes  to  the  heart ;  the  law  came 
from  the  lips  of  God,  but  the  life  and  love  of  the  gos- 
pel come  from  his  heart ;  the  one  was  written  by  his 
finger  on  tables  of  stone,  and  the  other  on  ''fleshy 
tables  of  the  heart." 

Now  we  know  intuitively  that  if  any  one  is  a  hater, 
no  eternal  life  dwelleth  in  him.  Here  the  present  tense 
occurs  with  its  usual  force  ;  it  means  every  one  who 
habitually  hates  his  brethren.  Heretofore  the  believer 
has  been  represented  in  this  Epistle  as  having  the  word, 
the  seed,  and  the  love  of  God  abiding  in  him.     He  is 


142  THE    FIEST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

also  represented  as  having  an  unction,  the  truth,  and 
even  God  and  Christ  abiding  in  him.  But  here  John 
speaks  of  eternal  life  abiding  in  the  believer.  AVe 
know  that  if  there  is  life  abiding  in  us  it  will  show 
itself  in  growth  and  action.  The  action  of  this  life 
from  God,  reaching  out  to  the  age  of  the  ages  yet  to 
come,  is  an  action  of  love.  If  this  life  is  in  us,  the  ac- 
tion of  love  will  proceed  from  us.  It  is  because  of  this 
that  we  come  to  know  that  no  hater  has  life  in  him.  If 
the  climax  of  hatred,  murder,  be  present,  it  is  utterly 
impossible  that  this  germ  of  life  can  exist  at  the  same 
time. 

But  how  do  we  know  that  we  love  ?  After  what  pat- 
tern must  our  love  show  itself  ?  We  know  that  Ave  love 
because  God  has  taught  us  what  love  is.  It  is  an  act 
the  exact  opposite  of  the  murderer's  characteristic  act  of 
hatred.  It  is  the  sacrifice  of  self  for  the  good  of  others 
and  not  the  sacrifice  of  others  for  the  real  or  supposed 
good  of  self.  ''  Herein,'^  John  says,  ''  ive  come  to  know 
love,  because  he  [Christ]  laid  down  his  life  for  us.^'  He 
laid  down  his  life  in  our  behalf,  over  us,  and  in  our 
stead.  This  is  the  divine  definition  and  explanation  of 
love — a  definition  given  in  action  and  not  in  word.  It 
is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  words, "  of  God  "  are 
not  in  the  text  ;  hence  we  learn,  not  merely  what  the 
love  of  God  is,  but  what  love  in  abstract  and  essence  is. 
We  learn  what  love  is,  at  the  cross,  just  as  Ave  learn  at 
the  cross,  and  can  learn  noAvhere  else,  what  sin  is  in  its 
deepest  and  most  polluted  nature.  The  cross  is  the 
measure  of  everything.     This  ideal  of  love  gives  rise  to 


LOVE    AND    HATKED  143 

the  loftiest  moral  and  spiritual  emotions.  Its  archetype 
is  in  the  bosom  of  God;  its  home  among  men  is  Christ's 
heart  of  fire  and  flesh ;  and  its  example  is  the  incarna- 
tion ending  at  the  cross.  That  is  what  love  is,  and 
this  is  the  way  we  come  to  know  it. 

At  this  point  we  have  reached  the  very  center  around 
which  this  whole  Epistle  revolves.  The  foundation  of 
everything  is  the  life  of  God  manifested  in  the  wonder- 
ful work  of  his  Son.  Now  the  root  by  which  we  be- 
come attached  to  God  through  his  Son  is  faith.  Of  this 
Epistle,  then,  it  may  be  said  that  its  theme  is  a  mani- 
fested God,  its  root  is  faith,  its  life  is  love,  its  law  is 
truth,  its  fruit  is  holiness,  and  its  note  is  everlasting  fel- 
lowship with  God  and  with  the  brethren. 

This  is  the  pattern  for  us.  Christ  was  a  perfect  man- 
ifestation of  the  divine  life  of  love  that  existed  in  the 
bosom  of  God,  unseen  by  the  eyes  of  men.  When  that 
life  is  communicated  to  us,  it  should  lead  to  results  like 
those  seen  in  the  life  of  our  Lord.  Hence  our  relation 
to  Christ  and  to  his  followers  is  such  that  we  should  lay 
down  our  lives  in  self-sacrifice  for  the  brethren.  Both 
the  example  of  Christ  and  the  truth  revealed  by  his 
example  constrain  us,  while  we  are  moved  mightily  by 
the  divine  life  formed  within.  That  is  to  say,  our  love 
is  all  of  a  piece  with  ''the  love,^'  the  one  great  love 
that  existed  from  all  eternity  and  was  manifested  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We  have  a  vital  union  with  Christ. 
This  life  in  us  should  repeat  itself  in  a  manner  similar 
to  what  was  seen  in  him.  This  was  the  language  of 
John's  life  as  well  as  of  his  lips  and  of  his  pen.     Hence 


144  THE    FIRST    EPISTI.E    OF    JOHN 

the  pattern  for  us,  whether  in  righteousness  or  in  love, 
is  divine.  God  is  light,  and  we  should  walk  in  the 
light.  God  is  absolutely  righteous,  and  we  should  walk 
in  the  righteousness  of  that  holy  God.  He  is  also  love, 
and  that  love  is  the  mold  of  our  lives.  Divine  right- 
eousness and  divine  love  are  the  patterns  of  our  conduct. 
We  are  lifted  up  beyond  the  mere  ' '  shalt  nots ' '  of 
Moses  to  the  great  ' '  ought ' '  that  flows  from  the  heart 
of  God  in  light  and  love. 

The  great  commandments  of  Moses,  as  summed  up  by 
Christ,  are  to  love  God  with  all  the  heart  and  our  neigh- 
bor as  ourselves.  But  these  two  commandments  only 
embodied  the  Jewish  sense  of  right  and  justice.  The 
new  command  is  made  known  by  the  example  of  the 
giver — it  is  embodied  in  a  person  and  not  declared  by 
words.  He  laid  down  his  life  for  us,  and  we  ought  to 
lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren.  "Anew  com- 
mandment give  I  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another 
even  as  I  have  loved  you."  Jesus  loved  the  world  as 
he  loved  himself.  He  emptied  himself  that  we  might  be 
filled,  and  beggared  himself  that  we  might  be  enriched. 
This  is  the  pattern  of  life  now  set  before  us  for  our  repro- 
duction and  manifestation.  It  was  seen  in  the  Apos- 
tles and  early  Christians.  It  is  illustrated  by  hundreds 
of  missionaries,  mothers,  and  obscure  workers  to-day, 
who  follow  the  self-emptying  path  of  Christ.^  No,  it 
is  not  the  Ten  Commandments.  They  only  stand  in 
our  way  when  we  turn  our  feet  into  wrong  paths.  But 
the  pattern  of  Jesus  lures  us  on  to  nobler  deeds,  when 

1  Phil.  2  :  5-8 


LOVE   AND    HATRED  145 

we  turn  our  hearts  toward  rigid  paths  and  toward  the  suf- 
fering brother.  When  John,  the  author  of  this  Epistle, 
was  asked  why  he  always  repeated  in  the  church,  ''little 
children,  love  one  another,"  he  replied:  "  Because  it 
is  the  commandment  of  the  Lord,  and  if  this  one  thing 
be  attained,  it  is  enough."  And  so,  over  and  over 
again,  the  injunction  was  given,  and  has  come  down  to 
us  through  the  centuries,  laden  with  the  life  of  our  Lord 
and  made  sacred  by  ''that  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved." 
But  it  is  possible  for  man  to  mistake  the  emotions  of 
heroic  and  divine  sentiments  for  the  deed  of  love.  In 
such  a  case  we  are  apt  to  forget  the  commonplace  duties 
of  looking  up  the  brethren,  finding  out  their  need,  and 
helping  them.  Hence  John  proceeds  to  put  this  love 
to  a  practical  test,  to  bring  it  down  from  the  skies  to 
the  earth — down  from  the  head  to  the  feet  of  the  body. 
He  says,  "he  that  hath  the  life  of  this  w^orld,"  or 
as  it  is  put  in  the  translation,  "  this  world's  goods,  and 
shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  compassion,"  so  that  a  brother 
can  find  no  access  to  his  sympathy, — that  is,  he  w^ho 
puts  up  a  bar  so  that  a  needy  brother  can  find  no  ac- 
cess to  his  tender  feelings, — this  man  has  not  the  love 
of  God  in  him.  "  Shutteth  up,"  implies  that  he  de- 
liberately closes  his  heart  after  it  has  been  touched  by 
the  first  sight  of  suffering.  It  is  not  merely  a  readiness 
to  talk,  to  weep,  and  to  go  into  raptures  about  the  di- 
vine nature  of  sympathy.  It  is  a  willingness,  when  a 
needy  brother's  case  is  brought  before  our  notice,  to 
look  into  it  and  to  help  him.  The  man  who  refuses  to 
supply  either  food  or  clothing  shows  a  lack  in  his  heart 


146  THE    FIRST   EPISTLE   OF   JOHN 

of  that  life  of  love.  There  is  many  a  man  who  thinks 
he  would  die  for  the  Lord,  but  who  would  not  feed  or 
clothe  a  suffering  brother.  This  is  the  ordinary  and 
homely  test  of  love  that  comes  to  every  man's  life.  Few 
are  called  upon  to  die  for  another,  but  all  have  the 
chance  to  deny  self  for  another's  good.  If  we  are  found 
wanting  here  we  need  ask  for  no  other  test. 

Hence  John  says,  "  how  doth  the  love  of  God  abide 
in  him  f  ' '  The  phrase,  ' '  the  love  of  God, ' '  is  peculiar. 
It  means  the  love  of  which  God  is  both  the  author  and 
the  object,  and  it  should  never  be  forgotten  that  he  is 
also  its  example.  Here  we  are  blamed,  not  for  trans- 
gressing the  law  of  God,  but  we  are  blamed  for  not  ex- 
pressiyig  the  love  of  God.  We  are,  therefore,  to  blame 
for  not  letting  the  love  that  glows  in  the  heart  of  God 
express  itself  through  the  beneficence  of  our  lives.  If 
we  have  faith,  that  gives  Christ  to  us ;  but  love,  flow- 
ing from  faith,  gives  us  to  our  brother. 

Then  follows  the  exhortation  not  to  practise  the  hy- 
pocrisy of  love — love  in  words  and  not  in  deeds,  in 
tongue  and  not  in  truth.  As  this  is  God's  love  ex- 
pressed toward  us,  begotten  in  us,  and  manifested 
through  us,  there  need  be  no  drying  up  of  its  stream, 
leaving  only  a  sediment  of  word-love  and  tongue-love. 
A  profession  of  love  never  clothed  the  naked  nor  fed  the 
hungry.  One  of  the  greatest  blessings  and  one  of  the 
highest  honors  that  can  ever  come  to  man  is  to  be  a 
channel  for  God's  love,  flowing  out  to  our  fellow  crea- 
tures. /^When  God  can  express  his  own  love  through  a 
human  heart,   a  human   touch,  a  human  look,   and  a 


LOVE    AND    HATRED  147 

human  gift,  it  is  most  divine.  This  love  of  God  goes 
out  from  a  believing  soul  and  leads  to  a  devout  heart 
and  a  helping  hand.  Thus  shall  we  attain  to  a  perfect 
balance  of  belief,  feeling,  communion,  and  work,  all  of 
which  are  necessary  to  a  full  and  rounded  Christian 
character. 


CHAPTER  XI 

OBEDIENCE  AND  CONFIDENCE 

By  common   consent,  the   nineteenth 
1  John  3  :  19-U         -,  ,        ,.  ^i  i  ^i      i      j 

and  twentieth  verses  here  are  the  hard- 
est to  interpret  of  any  part  of  this  difficult  Epistle.  It 
would  only  be  a  source  of  confusion  to  state  the  vari- 
ous ways  in  which  they  have  been  explained.  Our 
usual  course  will  be  followed.  We  shall  unfold  that 
teaching  that  seems  to  be  according  to  the  mind  of 
the  author  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  whom  he  was 
moved,  without  giving  attention  to  anything  doubtful. 
The  Revised  version  is  adopted.  It  is,  almost  word  for 
word,  the  same  as  that  made  by  Canon  Westcott. 

* '  Hereby  shall  we  know  that  w^e  are  of  the  truth  and 
shall  assure  our  heart  before  him,  whereinsoever  our 
heart  condemn  us ;  because  God  is  greater  than  our 
heart,  and  know  eth  all  things. ' ' 

We  have  here,  without  doubt,  the  intimate  relation 
existing  between  a  believing  heart  and  a  loving  God. 
In  the  preceding  verses  we  have  seen  the  intimacy  that 
ought  to  exist  between  the  sons  of  God,  and  the  hatred 
that  will  surely  come  from  the  world.  Just  as  God's 
children  ought  to  manifest  a  perfect  willingness  to 
share  everything  among  themselves,  so  there  ought  to 
be  undisturbed  confidence  that  God  is  willing  to  share 
148 


OBEDIENCE  AND  CONFIDENCE       149 

everything  with  his  children.  In  a  former  chapter  we 
were  told  to  abide  in  Christ  that  we  might  not  be 
shamed  away  from  his  presence  when  he  appears  a  sec- 
ond time.  But  here  we  are  looked  upon  as  walking  be- 
fore God  now,  and  a  present  confidence  becomes  ex- 
ceedingly practical  in  everyday  life. 

We  shall  come  to  know  that  we  are  of  the  truth.  We 
are  of  God  as  the  source  of  our  spiritual  life,  but  "  of 
his  own  will  begat  he  us  by  the  word  of  truth."  The 
truth  is  the  instrument  for  begetting  the  life  in  us. 
Jesus  is  himself  the  truth,  revealing  the  right  relation- 
ship of  man  to  God  and  also,  to  his  fellow-man.  When 
Christ  and  his  teachings  are  received  in  the  heart,  then 
we  become  children  of  the  truth.  To  be  a  child  of  God 
points  specially  to  the  divine  life  received  ;  while  to  be 
a  child  of  the  truth,  has  in  view  the  practical  manifes- 
tation of  the  life  within  us,  in  its  relation  to  God,  to  the 
believer,  and  to  the  world.  When  the  spirit  of  Christ  is 
manifested  in  our  lives — when  we  love  in  deed  and  in 
truth,  then  only  do  we  come  to  know  that  we  are  of  the 
truth.  What  is  more,  we  persuade  our  hearts  before 
God  in  any  matter  in  which  our  liearts  condemn  us. 
Our  hearts  are  to  live  before  Jiim  now,  no  matter  where 
our  abiding  place  may  be  on  earth.  It  is  the  essential 
feature  of  the  Christian  life-^that  it  be  lived  out,  in 
thought  and  deed,  in  the  very  presence  of  God. 

This  thought  of  being  before  the  eye  of  God  is  the 
key  to  the  meaning  here.  It  is  a  companion  to  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.^     In  the  latter,  the  believer  is 

1  Heb.  4  :  12-16. 


150  THE    FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

searched  by  ' '  the  word  of  God  ' '  until  soul  and  spirit, 
joints  and  marrow,  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart  are 
all  laid  bare.  ' '  All  things  are  naked  and  laid  open  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  him  with  whom  we  have  to  do."  But 
we  can  "  draw  near  with  boldness  to  the  throne  of 
grace, ' '  in  spite  of  the  awful  discoveries  made  by  the 
searching  "word,"  because  we  have  *'in  heaven  a 
great  high  priest,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God, "  "  touched 
with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities. ' '  This  is  our  rela- 
tion to  God  in  his  temple,  under  the  mediation  of  our 
"high  priest,"  so  that  we  have  confidence,  boldness  to 
come  for  mercy  to  forgive,  and  grace  to  help. 

In  John,  however,  the  Revealer  and  the  Revealed 
are  one  and  the  same  person.  We  are  brought  face  to 
face  with  God,  not  so  much  because  of  the  Mediator 
bringing  us  to  God  as  because  of  God  coming  to  us 
and  imparting  his  own  life.  We  have,  therefore,  to 
deal  with  God  directly.  Now  when  we  do  not  live  up 
to  our  light,  and  the  condemnation  of  our  hearts  over- 
whelms us,  must  our  fellowship  be  broken  ?  Are  we 
cut  oif  from  confidence  ?  By  no  means.  In  whatso- 
ever particular  our  hearts  may  condemn,  we  may  still 
persuade  them  to  confidence,  because  "  God  is  greater' 
than  our  heart  and  hioweth  all  things.'"  Because 
greater,  he  would  find  greater  reason  to  condemn  when 
looking  at  us.  That  is  true.  But  because  greater,  he 
would  have  the  greater  reason  to  love  and  bless  when 
looking  at  "  all  things  "  which  his  grace  has  provided 
in  our  behalf — the  propitiation,  the  cleansing  blood,  and 
the  Advocate  maintaining  our  standing.     From  the  be- 


OBEDIENCE  AND  CONFIDENCE       151 

ginning  God  knew  all  we  might  need  of  mercy,  both 
before  and  after  he  came  into  our  hearts  and  we  came 
into  his  family ;  and  the  provision  of  grace  was  equal  to 
the  untold  need.  Whatever  the  heart  might  bring  up 
to  condemn,  we  could  still  fall  back  upon  the  knowledge 
of  God  extending  beyond  all  ive  might  know,  including 
much  more  than  those  things  on  which  the  heart  dwells. 
His  grace,  which  made  provision  for  depths  and  heights 
of  guilt  beyond  our  ken,  would  not  stumble  over  the 
difficulties  of  what  might  come  under  our  knowledge. 
For,  be  it  ever  remembered  that  the  question  of  our 
salvation  as  sinners  is  not  under  consideration  here,  it 
is  the  problem  of  maintaining  confidence  as  stumbling 
and  falling  saints.  When  we  love  the  brethren  in  deed, 
so  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  about  its  reality,  then  we 
know  that  God's  love  has  been  bestowed  upon  us,  his 
life  has  been  imparted  to  us,  and  his  presence  is  among 
us — we  are  before  him.  He  who  gave  us  all  these  things 
is  greater  than  our  hearts  and  gracious  to  forgive,  not 
only  all  the  failures  upon  which  the  heart  sorrowfully 
dwells,  but  all  the  greater  failures  that  a  knowledge  of 
all  things  implies.  Hence  we  assure  our  hearts  ;  but  this 
assurance  does  not  lay  claim  to  sinlessness,  nor  does  it 
lead  to  insensibility  to  the  heinousness  of  sin,  but  it 
leads  to  a  tender  assurance  in  the  very  presence  of  a 
heart-searching  and  holy  God,  because  of  all  that  he  is 
known  to  be. 

We  persuade  ourselves  into  confidence  before  God, 
notwithstanding  our  failings  before  man.  Our  whole 
life,  our  essential  being,  is  before  God.     It  is  before 


152  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF   JOHN 

him  that  we  may  have  confidence  toward  him.  "O 
Thou,  that  art  in  the  cleft  of  the  rock,  let  me  see  thy 
countenance,  let  me  hear  thy  voice."  The  prodigal 
needed  not  only  to  return  to  the  Father's  farm,  and 
house,  and  table,  but  to  the  Father's  face  and  heart. 
There  is  where  we  are  now  ;  it  is  not  what  we  hope  for. 
But  we  take  it  by  faith,  and  walk  softly  before  him 
who  is  above  us,  beneath  us,  behind  us,  before  us,  with 
us,  and  in  us. 

But  if  our  heart  condemn  us  not,  then  it  follows  that 
we  have  absolute  boldness  before  God.  We  do  not 
need,  in  this  case,  to  struggle  and  drag  ourselves  out  of 
conscious  failures  that  we  may  lift  ourselves  up  to  the 
face  and  favor  of  God.  We  are  in  that  favor  already, 
and  we  enjoy  the  consciousness  of  its  peace.  And  this 
leads  to  freedom  of  speech  in  making  known  our  wants. 
And  ^  ^  whatsoever  %ve  ask  ive  receive  of  him,  because  ive 
keep  his  commandments,  and  do  the  things  that  are  pleas- 
ing in  his  sight."  Our  prayer  is  not  answered  as  a  re- 
ward of  obedience,  but  we  have  the  assurance  of  an 
answer  to  our  prayers  because  of  obedience.  We  do  not 
give  God  so  much  service  on  condition  that  he  may  give 
us  back  so  much  answer  to  prayer.  The  answer  comes 
because  the  prayer,  in  its  deepest  meaning,  coincides 
with  the  commandments  and  will  of  God.  The  sole 
and  only  end  of  the  Christian  is  to  keep  the  command- 
ments and  to  do  the  will  of  God.  The  sole  and  only 
end  of  his  prayer,  the  thing  that  he  aims  at  in  his 
prayer,  is  power  to  enable  him  to  keep  those  command- 
ments and  to  do  that  w^ill.     Therefore,  whatsoever  we 


OBEDIENCE  AND  CONFIDENCE       153 

ask  is  necessarily  answered,  because  we  are  now  doing 
what  is  pleasing  to  God  and  we  are  watchfully  looking 
to  the  future,  that  we  may  discern  his  will  as  we  move 
on  in  the  path  of  life.  For  this  reason  everything 
that  we  ask  of  him  is  granted  to  us  wdth  gracious  gen- 
erosity. 

When  walking  before  God  in  confidence,  the  heart 
will  respond  to  the  blessed  influence  flowing  from  his 
glorious  nature.  The  heart  is  formed  by  the  commun- 
ion which  we  enjoy  in  the  light  of  his  countenance. 
God,  ichen  we  are  in  his  presence  and  fellowship,  ani- 
mates the  life  which  he  has  imparted,  attracts  the  heart 
which  he  has  created,  and  molds  the  will  which  he  has 
given  us.  We  are  thus  led  to  pray  for  the  fulfillment 
of  those  desires  which  are  begotten  in  us  and  which 
come  to  us  when  we  are  overshadowed  by  his  presence. 
God  freely  gives  the  power  of  his  Spirit  and  providence 
to  bring  to  pass  longings  that  find  their  source  in  him- 
self. This  was  the  position  and  experience  of  our  Lord 
when  acting  for  the  Father  among  men  on  earth.  He 
who  could  say,  "I  do  always  the  things  that  are  pleas- 
ing to  him,"  also  said,  "  I  knew  that  thou  hearest  me 
always. ' '  ^ 

After  this  follows  a  statement  concerning  the  com- 
mandments of  God.  Here  we  find  one  of  the  most  con- 
cise summaries  of  all  that  God  requires  of  us  during 
this  present  age  that  can  be  found  in  the  whole  of  the 
Scriptures.  John  puts  the  Christian  where  he  truly 
belongs.     There  is  nothing  plainer  in   the  Scriptures 

1  John  8  :  29  ;  11  :  42. 


154  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

than  that  the  child  of  God  is  freed  from  the  law.  By 
the  law  the  Bible  always  means,  not  simply  the  Ten 
Commandments,  but  also  everything  connected  with  the 
Ten  Commandments.  It  stands  for  the  outward  types, 
ceremonies,  and  indeed  everything  that  Moses  instituted. 
The  whole  of  the  institutions  of  Moses  are  called  "  the 
law."  Everything  instituted  by  Christ  is  called  grace, 
or  the  gospel.  We  are  delivered  out  from  the  law, 
as  a  system  of  salvation,  and  brought  into  the  grace  of 
God,  which  gives  us  salvation.  Now,  then,  it  might 
be  thought  that  the  Christian  is  not  under  any  law, 
while  the  exact  opposite  is  true.  In  the  seventh  chap- 
ter of  Komans  the  apostle  says,  * '  the  woman  that  hath 
an  husband  is  bound  by  law  to  the  husband,  w^hile 
he  liveth,"  but  after  the  husband  dies  "she  is  dis- 
charged from  the  law  of  the  husband."  If  the  husband 
dies  she  is  free  from  the  law  which  forbids  her  from  be- 
ing joined  to  another  man.  In  like  manner  we  also  are 
made  dead  to  the  law  "  through  the  body  of  Christ, 
that  we  should  be  joined  to  him  who  was  raised  from 
the  dead,  that  we  might  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God." 
So  that  while  we  are  free  from  the  Ten  Commandments, 
and  the  whole  system  instituted  by  Moses,  we  are  under 
the  law  to  Christ,  or  as  it  is  in  the  Greek,  we  are  eii- 
laiued  to  Christ,  that  we  might  be  for  another.  He  is, 
in  essence,  all  that  the  law  commanded  and  promised. 
Being  joined  to  him,  we  fulfill  the  righteous  demands 
of  the  law,  while  we  live  for  him  who  died  for  us  and 
rose  again. 

The  Ten  Commandments  are  summed  up  by  Christ 


OBEDIENCE  AND  CONFIDENCE       155 

as  enjoining  perfect  love  to  God,  and  love  to  our  fel- 
lows, equal  to  that  which  we  have  for  ourselves.  This 
was  law,  and  the  man  who  obeyed  this  law  earned  life 
by  righteousness.  *'  This  do  and  thou  shalt  live." 
But  the  difficulty  was  to  find  the  man  who  was  able  to 
do  and  live.  In  the  place  of  these  commands  of  the 
law  John  puts  faith  in  the  name  of  the  Son,  and  love 
one  to  another.  That  is,  instead  of  loving  God  with 
all  our  minds  and  all  our  hearts,  we  are  to  have  faith 
in  him  who  has  loved  God  with  all  his  mind  and  heart, 
in  our  behalf.  Instead  of  loving  our  neighbor  as  our- 
selves, we  are  to  have  benevolent  love  toward  those 
w^ho  belong  to  the  body  of  believers.  We  are  to  be- 
lieve on  the  Son,  and  love  the  sons  of  God.  This  is 
the  essence  of  our  duty  now.  It  is  not,  therefore,  the 
fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  men  that  is 
now  revealed  by  Christ  and  enjoined  upon  us.  It  is 
the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  Chris- 
tians. Toward  all  others  it  is  not  the  relation  of  brother- 
hood, but  of  benevolence.  We  should  be  willing  to  do 
and  to  be  anything  that  is  honorable  to  save  the  lost 
people  of  all  nations.  Our  prayers  and  efforts  should 
lead  us  to  use  every  means  in  our  power  that  their  eyes 
may  be  opened  to  see  their  ruin,  and  that  their  hearts 
may  be  enlightened  to  accept  their  Saviour.  Indeed, 
our  very  lives  should  be  given  in  their  interest.  But 
our  brotherhood  is  made  up  of  the  community  of  be- 
lievers. 

These  commandments  given  by  John,  are  the  exact 
opposite  of  the  Ten  Commandments  ;  they  differ  as  law 


156  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

and  grace  always  differ.  The  first  commandment  is, 
"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart." 
But  the  first  commandment  of  John  is,  ' '  Believe  on 
the  name  of  his  Son."  In  other  words,  believe  that 
God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  sent  his  Son.  The  Old 
Testament  demands  love  from  me  ;  the  New  Testament 
commands  me  to  believe  in  love  from  Mm.  The  old 
commandment  was,  ''Give  me  thy  love"  ;  the  new 
commandment  is  "Take  my  love  into  thy  heart." 
The  old  said,  "  Love  God  with  all  your  heart"  ;  the 
new  says,  *'Let  God  love  you  with  all  his  heart." 
Then,  on  the  other  hand,  the  old  commandment  was 
' '  Love  your  neighbor  ' '  ;  the  new  commandment  is 
' '  Love  one  another. ' '  Israel  was  viewed  as  a  nation,  and 
every  one  belonging  to  it  was  considered  as  a  part  of 
God's  family.  Now,  however,  there  is  an  election  out 
of  every  nation,  and  the  command  is,  not  love  for  every 
one  out  of  one  nation,  but  love  for  some  out  of  every 
nation.  Therefore,  we  are  not  commanded  to  love  our 
neighbor,  but  love  one  another.  In  the  old  command- 
ment our  love  to  our  neighbor  is  to  be  the  same  as  our 
love  to  ourselves.  In  the  new,  it  is  beyond  that,  io  love 
as  Christ  loves.  We  are  en-lawed  to  Christ.  He  is 
our  ideal  and  the  spring  of  our  life.  His  life  impels  us 
and  his  love  draws  us.  As  he  is  the  Saviour  of  all 
men  and  especially  of  those  that  believe,  so  we  have  a 
relation  to  all  men,  but  a  special  tie  that  binds  us  to 
believers. 

It  is  an  extraordinary  fact,  that  never  once  in  the 
New  Testament  does  God  say  "  Love  me,"  "  Give  me 


OBEDIENCE  AND  CONFIDENCE       157 

thy  heart. ' '  He  does  say  this  again  and  again  in  the 
Old.  There  is,  however,  a  record  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment of  his  love  to  us.  This  begets  love  in  us,  and  we 
love  him,  because  he  first  loved  us. 

Again,  the  commandment  of  Moses  came  at  the  very 
beginning  of  the  nation's  history.  But  this  command- 
ment is  presented  here  at  the  very  end  of  the  revela- 
tion of  God  to  his  church.  In  the  Old  Testament,  how- 
ever, the  commandment  came  only  to  the  people  who 
had  been  brought  out  of  Egypt,  but  here  it  is  to  all 
mankind.  The  essence  of  the  command  is  this  :  "I 
have  put  my  Son  upon  the  cross  to  show  you  how  much 
I  love  you  ;  believe  in  my  love,  and  after  you  have  be- 
lieved in  my  love  for  you,  see  that  you  love  one  an- 
other. ' '  It  thus  follows  that  we  are  not  under  law  but 
under  grace  ;  not  under  Moses,  but  under  Christ.  We 
have  the  divine  life,  and  it  will  show  itself  in  righteous- 
ness and  love. 

We  are  looking  up  to  God  in  confidence  now,  and 
we  are  waiting  for  the  appearance  of  Christ  by  and 
by,  and  we  can  assure  our  hearts  of  perfect  acceptance. 
We  have  freedom  to  speak  to  God  in  prayer,  and  we 
know  that  he  hears  us,  for  we  are  seeking  to  keep  his 
commandments.  These  commands  are  simple  ;  the  es- 
sence is  that  we  receive  his  love  into  our  hearts  and 
deal  it  out  again  to  his  people  ;  to  receive  it  in  unhin- 
dered fullness  and  freeness  and  to  let  it  flow  out  to  one 
another  in  the  same  fullness  and  freeness.  The  w^hole 
essence  of  the  Christian  life  is  to  revel  in  the  love  of 
God,  to  be  overwhelmed  with  it,  to  be  full  of  it,  to  be 


158  THE    FIRST   EPISTLE    OF   JOHN 

molded  by  it,  and  then  to  let  the  sweetness  of  that 
love  go  out  to  those  who  are  redeemed  by  the  blood  of 
Christ. 

Then  follows  the  statement  that  he  who  "  keepeth  his 
commandments  abideth  in  him,  and  he  in  hiyn.^'  That 
is,  if  we  keep  the  commandments  of  Christ,  we  will 
abide  in  him  and  he  will  abide  in  us,  and  the  only  way 
that  we  know  that  he  abides  in  us  is  by  the  Spirit  whom 
he  gives  us.  We  now  have  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  he  will 
implant  in  us  the  tendencies  and  characteristics  which, 
in  complete  fullness,  were  seen  in  the  life  and  character 
of  Jesus  our  Lord. 


CHAPTER  XII 

TRUE  AND  FALSE  SPIRITS 

In  a  former  chapter  John  has  shown 

.  ,    f      , ,  ^     1  John  4  :  1-6 

how  the  **  antichrists       were  opposed 

to  the  Christians  and  also  how  the  Antichrist  is  opposed 

to  the  Christ.      He  now  proceeds  to  contrast   *  *  the 

spirit  of  truth  ' '  with  the   * '  spirit  of  error, ' '    or  true 

and  false  spirits.     Just  as  the  spirit  of  Antichrist  was 

shown  to  be  opposed  to  Christ  and  his  followers,  so  now 

we  are  to  see   that   ''the  spirit   of  error,"    speaking 

through  false  prophets,  is  opposed  to   ''  the  spirit  of 

truth." 

This  consideration  of  the  true  and  the  false  in  the 
realm  of  spirits,  grows  out  of  John's  statement  in  the 
preceding  chapter  that  Christians  have  the  Spirit  of 
God  abiding  in  them.  This  indwelling  of  the  Spirit  is 
the  characteristic  endowment  of  the  children  of  God 
in  this  dispensation.  They  were  never  called  Christians 
before,  because  they  were  not  anointed  ones  in  the  same 
sense  in  any  previous  age. 

But  there  are  other  spiritual  powers  about  us  that 
may  influence  us,  and  even  dwell  in  us,  powers  that  are 
not  of  God.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  a  submissive  yield- 
ing to  the  Spirit  of  truth  outside  of  ourselves  might 
open  the  way  for  submission  to  that  other  spiritual  force 

159 


160  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF   JOHN 

called  ''the  spirit  of  error."  Moreover,  false  proph- 
ets, that  is,  men  professing  to  speak  for  God  and  from 
God,  who  were  in  league  with  that  malignant  and  un- 
seen "spiritual  host  of  wickedness"  which  is  opposed 
to  God,  had  arisen.  False  spirits  were  speaking 
through  them,  although  they  claimed  to  have  commu- 
nications from  God.  On  this  account  John  raises  a 
warning  voice  declaring  that  there  are  evil  spirits  about 
us  having  their  false  prophets,  who  might  lead  astray 
the  confiding  disciple.  Therefore  "  believe  not  every 
spirit,  but  prove  the  spirits  whether  they  are  of  God.'' 

False  teachers,  whose  mold  of  thought  and  purpose 
of  life  have  become  conformed  to  the  wishes  of  these 
evil  spirits,  are  the  indirect  channels  of  their  opposition 
to  Christ  and  the  saints.  They  also  approach  us  directly 
by  suggestions  of  ambitious  aims,  the  love  of  money,  of 
power,  of  honor,  and  even  of  a  knowledge  that  is  not 
according  to  God.  They  gain  possession  of  those  reject- 
ing Christ  ^  and  gratify  their  unnatural  desires  in  the 
sins  that  are  not  so  much  as  to  be  named  among  us. 
Alas  !  too  often  these  spirits  approach  the  saints  and 
lead  them  astray  through  the  sensual  desires  of  our 
nature,  by  suggestions  which  are  abhorrent  to  them 
when  living  in  conscious  communion  with  their  God 
and  ^Father.  All  such  approaches  and  wrong  influ- 
ences, from  the  unseen  realm,  are  practical  revelations 
of  the  world  of  evil  spirits  by  which  we  are  surrounded. 
These  spirits,  whether  good  or  bad,  must  necessarily 
operate  through  human  souls,  in  exercising  their  power 

1  Matt.  12  :  43-45. 


TEUE   AND    FALSE   SPIRITS  161 

upon  the  stage  of  life,  and  hence  the  introduction  of 
fiilse  prophets. 

It  is  not  an  unimportant  thing  to  understand  that 
there  is  a  great,  unseen  spiritual  force  about  us.  This  is 
not  a  superstition,  but  a  tremendous  fact.  To  be  igno- 
rant of  this  fact  will  lead  to  confusion,  discouragement, 
and  despair. 

"Oh,  it  is  hard  to  work  for  God, 
To  rise  and  take  his  part 
Upon  the  battlefield  of  life, 
And  not  sometimes  lose  heart." 

After  a  few  years  of  earnest,  conscientious,  and  intel- 
ligent fighting,  we  shall  lose  heart  at  all  times  and  sink 
into  utter  despair,  without  a  belief  in  the  supernatural 
power  of  God  that  will  some  day  rise  to  the  rescue  and 
move  on  to  victory. 

At  the  head  of  the  unseen  world  of  spirits  acting  for 
God  stands  our  Lord,  ''  exalted  above  all  principalities 
and  powers."  His  executive  representatives  on  earth 
during  this  present  dispensation  are  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  the  various  orders  of  holy  angels.  Myriads  of  an- 
gels are  here  upon  earth  serving  God  while  ministering 
"  unto  them  who  are  heirs  of  salvation."  As  a  servant 
in  a  household  renders  service  to  the  head  of  the  house 
while  caring  for  the  interests  of  the  guests,  so  these 
angels  render  divine  service  while  ministering  to  the 
saints.^  These  angels,  as  may  be  seen  especially  from 
the  books  of  Daniel  and  Kevelation,  also  perform  im- 
portant functions  in  connection  with  the  governments  of 

1  Heb.  1  :  14. 


162  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

the  world.  The  Holy  Spirit  and  the  angels  work  for 
and  through  the  children  of  God,  indwelt  by  the  one 
and  ministered  to  by  the  other. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  just  as  truly  a  world  of 
evil  spirits,  called  demons  in  the  Greek,  which  pervade 
the  whole  of  the  unseen  world  about  us.  There  is  but 
one  devil,  called  Beelzebub,  that  is,  the  Prince  of  Foul- 
ness, while  there  are  legions  of  demons  under  his  direc- 
tion. The  whole  mass  of  foul  and  fetid  ways  of  man 
upon  the  earth  is  formed,  fashioned,  and  directed  ac- 
cording to  the  wishes  of  the  *'  god  of  this  age,"  under 
the  agency  of  the  myriads  of  demons.  But  let  it  ever 
be  borne  in  mind  that  the  spirits  of  departed  men  and 
women  do  not  make  up  the  number  of  these  spiritual 
forces  for  good  or  ill.     No  one  any  longer  sings 

"I  want  to  be  an  angel 
And  with  the  angels  stand." 

Whatever  else  is  left  in  doubt  in  the  Bible,  it  is  made 
as  plain  as  day  that  the  spirits  of  our  departed  friends, 
whether  saved  or  unsaved,  never  again  appear  upon 
earth  until  the  return  of  the  Lord. 

The  origin  of  this  devil  and  these  demons  has  been  a 
subject  for  the  wildest  speculation.  We  must  regard 
this  as  among  ''the  secret  things"  that  belong  unto 
God.  Milton  has  fixed  the  conviction  in  the  Saxon 
mind  that  they  are  fallen  angels,  and  some  statements 
of  Scripture  point  in  that  direction,  but  farther  than 
this  we  cannot  go.^ 

1  Jude  6. 


TRUE    AND    FALSE    SPIRITS  163 

We  influence  each  other  by  words,  looks,  acts,  or 
gestures.  Our  unseen  self  conveys  its  thoughts,  feel- 
ings, or  volitions  by  these  channels.  Although  it  is 
not  easy  to  understand  or  explain  how  a  spirit,  without 
such  mediums  of  communication  can  act  upon  our 
spirits,  we  may  have  some  hint  from  a  fact  recently  dis- 
covered. It  is  now  generally  accepted  as  true  that  each 
person  possesses  what  is  called  an  '*  atmosphere,"  and 
that  influences  may  be  communicated  through  this  me- 
dium alone.  May  not  this  well -attested  truth  give  some 
intimation  of  how  the  spirits  of  the  unseen  world  influ- 
ence us,  and  all  the  more  as  we  yield  to  their  sugges- 
tions? But,  however  accomplished,  the  Bible  teaches, 
and  experience  confirms,  the  belief  that  evil  spirits  do 
come  into  contact  with  men  of  the  world  and  influence 
them,  just  as  the  Holy  Spirit  becomes  a  molding  power 
to  the  believer  in  Christ.  The  "  famihar  spirits"  of 
the  Old  Testament,  the  "  seducing  spirits  ' '  of  the  New, 
the  so-called  "  mediums  "  of  Christendom,  and  the 
"demons  "  whom  the  Gentiles  still  worship,  all  come 
under  the  head  of  the  evil  spirits  spoken  of  in  this  chap- 
ter by  John. 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  this  passage  John  puts  us  in 
the  midst  of  two  contending  forces,  just  as  he  does 
everywhere  else  in  this  Epistle.  Darkness  and  light, 
truth  and  error,  life  and  death,  God  and  the  world, 
the  Spirit  and  the  flesh,  Christ  and  the  devil,  Christ 
and  the  Antichrist,  Christians  and  antichrists,  good 
spirits  and  bad  spirits,  are  set  over  against  each  other. 
Because  we  are   in   the   midst   of  these   two  spiritual 

M 


164  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

forces,  the  Apostle  Paul  says  to  the  Ephesians,  "We 
wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood."  That  itself  would 
be  a  great  contest,  but  it  is  the  smallest  side  of  the  war- 
fare of  the  Christian  life.  We  have  to  fight  against 
' '  principalities  and  powers,  against  world  rulers  of  this 
darkness  and  against  the  spiritual  hosts  of  wickedness 
in  heavenly  places. ' '  No  wonder  he  exhorts  us  to  take 
up  and  put  on  the  ivhole  armor  of  God  that  we  may  be 
able  to  withstand  and  to  remain  standing.^ 

Being  thus  placed,  we  are  to  try,  to  put  to  the  test, 
to  examine,  and  prove  the  suggestions  of  these  spirits. 
The  whole  range  of  influences  that  do  not  act  upon  the 
senses  but  upon  our  spirits,  which  do  not  proceed  from 
things  which  may  be  seen  and  handled — all  spiritual 
forces  are  to  be  put  to  the  test. 

Our  Lord  uses  this  word  translated  ' '  try  ' '  when 
complaining  that  the  people  of  his  own  times  could  de- 
termine from  the  appearance  of  the  heavens  or  the  di- 
rections of  the  winds,  early  in  the  morning,  what  kind 
of  weather  would  prevail  during  the  day.'^  Keen  and 
ready  as  they  were  to  examine  these  outward  signs, 
they  were  unwilling  ' '  to  discern  the  signs  of  the  times  ' ' 
that  would  lead  them  to  accept  the  true  Messiah  or,  at 
least,  to  understand  the  awful  consequences  of  his  re- 
jection. When  speaking  of  the  searching  examination 
which  a  man  should  make  of  himself  to  determine 
whether  he  is  in  the  faith,  and  as  a  preliminary  to  the 
Communion,  Paul  uses  the  word.^  It  is  also  used  to 
express  the  examination  which  should  be  made  in  de- 

1  Eph.  6  :  11-17.  2  Luke  12  :  56.  8  1  Cor.  11-:  28  ;  2  Cor.  13  :  5. 


TRUE    AND    FALSE    SPIRITS  165 

termining  that  which  is  well  pleasing  to  God.^  When 
the  Christian  is  exhorted  to  examine  his  own  works  that 
he  may  determine  whether  they  are  according  to  the 
mind  of  God,  this  word  is  used  again. ^  Christian  men 
and  teachers  are  also  to  be  tested  and  the  same  word  is 
used.'  Indeed,  we  are  earnestly  exhorted  to  put  all 
things  to  the  test  and  hold  fast  that  which  is  good.^ 
From  this  use  of  the  word,  it  is  plain  that  the  apostle 
is  here  urging  us  to  be  careful  and  test  CA^ery  suggestion 
that  comes  to  our  hearts  and  minds.  Nothing  should 
be  received  hastily,  but  everything  should  be  subjected 
to  calm  deliberation  and  severe  searching.  The  words 
that  come  from  religious  teachers  should  likewise  be  put 
to  the  test,  for  ^ '  many  false  projjJiets  are  gone  out  into  the 
world. ' '  The  Bereans  were  the  more  noble  because  they 
tested  everything  by  the  light  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures. 
There  is  no  hint  that  the  test  is  to  be  made  by  ' '  the 
priest ' '  and  that  his  decision  is  to  be  received  by  the 
people.  All  believers  are  taught  to  make  the  test  for 
themselves.  John  is  writing  to  the  whole  Christian 
community  and  not  merely  to  the  leaders  or  pastors  of 
the  flock.  There  is  no  infallible  human  authority  to 
which  we  can  appeal.  There  is  no  one  who  is  to  decide 
for  us  or  to  dictate  to  us  what  is  and  what  is  not  of  God. 
Neither  the  experts  of  criticism  nor  the  popes  of  ecclesias- 
ticism  can  determine  truth  for  us.  Each  Christian  must 
test  all  things  for  himself,  and  the  standard  by  which  all 
things  are  to  be  judged  is  the  infallible  word  of  God.^ 

1  Rom.  12  :  2  ;  Eph.  5  :  10.       2  Gal.  6:4       s  2  Cor.  8  :  22;  1  Tim.  3  :  10. 
HThess.  5  :  21.  ^Gq\.  1 :  8,  9. 


166  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

Our  Lord  took  knowledge  of  false  teachers.  He  did 
not  definitely  identify  them  with  wicked  spirits,  but  he 
did  say  that  they  were  ravening  wolves  within,  how- 
ever much  their  outward  appearance  might  be  like  inof- 
fensive sheep.  He  also  called  to  remembrance  the  false 
prophets  of  the  Old  Testament,  of  whom  the  depraved 
sons  of  those  degenerate  sires  always  had  something 
good  to  say.  Respecting  the  teachers  of  his  own  day, 
who  plotted  to  destroy  him,  he  left  them  to  draw  their 
own  inferences.  When  we  come  to  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  these  grim  intrusions  from  a  world  of  darkness 
again  appear.  Barnabas  and  Saul  came  in  contact  with 
one  Elymas  the  sorcerer,  a  man  in  connection  with 
some  ancient  form  of  spiritual  delusion,  who  is  described 
as  "  full  of  all  guile  and  all  villainy,  thou  son  of  the 
devil"  ;  and  this  man  resisted  them  in  their  eflbrt  to 
bring  the  Roman  ruler  to  the  obedience  of  faith.  At 
Philippi  this  unseen  power  of  evil  opposed  the  truth 
through  a  damsel  possessed  of  a  spirit  of  the  Pythian 
Apollo,  which  ruled  the  Delphic  oracle,  and  that  oracle 
was  consulted  and  obeyed  by  the  Roman  world. ^  All 
through  the  New  Testament,  from  the  entrance  of  Christ 
upon  his  public  ministry  till  the  close  of  the  apostolic 
period,  these  spirits  of  error  appear  upon  the  scene,  and 
they  have  their  false  prophets,  who  both  resist  the  truth 
and  seek  to  lead  the  servants  of  God  astray. 

After  this  warning  John  proceeds  to  give  a  perfect 


1  Satan  ruled  the  Delphic  oracle ;  that  ruled  Pagan  Rome ;  and  Rome 
ruled  the  world  at  that  time.  Satan  was  then  "  the  Grod  of  this  world," 
and  is  he  not  so  still  ? 


TRUE    AND    FALSE   SPIRITS  167 

means  of  detecting  the  spirit  that  is  of  God  and  the 
spirit  that  is  not  of  God.  *'  Every  spirit  that  confesses 
Jesus  Christ  as  having  come  in  the  flesh/'  and  having 
remained  in  the  flesh  (for  the  word  has  that  signifi- 
cance), "  is  of  God.''  The  question  is  not  one  of  inner 
faith,  but  of  outward  act.  It  is  a  bold  and  frank  con- 
fession of  Jesus  Christ  and  of  his  having  come,  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  in  human  form.  The  denial  of  the 
incarnation,  or  the  refusal  to  acknowledge  that  Jesus 
Christ  has  come  in  the  flesh,  is  the  denial  of  that  which 
is  characteristic  of  the  Christian  fliith,  and  is  therefore 
not  of  God.  Man's  need  as  a  sinner  could  be  met  in 
no  other  way  than  by  the  incarnation.  Only  a  man 
could  act  for  men  in  their  relation  to  God.  The  Saviour 
of  the  world  must  therefore  be  a  man — spirit,  soul,  and 
body.  To  deny  this  is  to  deny  all.  The  one  making 
the  denial  is  not  of  God. 

Previous  to  this,  when  John  was  speaking  of  men,  he 
declares  that  they  were  not  of  God  when  there  was  an 
absence  in  their  lives  of  divine  righteousness  and  love. 
In  the  case  of  spirits,  however,  they  show  that  they  are 
not  of  God  by  failing  to  confess  the  incarnation.  The 
proof  that  the  confession  which  we  make  of  Christ  hav- 
ing come  in  the  flesh  is  genuine,  is  the  pursuit  of  right- 
eousness and  love.  The  proof  that  a  spirit  is  of  God  is 
the  confession  of  the  incarnation.  The  denial  of  the 
incarnation  is  a  proof  that  such  spirit  is  not  of  God. 
How  beautifully  these  harmonize  !  When  Christ  came 
it  was  the  coming  of  grace  and  truth  or  love  and  right- 
eousness.    When  we  manifest  love  and  righteousness  in 


168  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

our  lives,  our  confession  of  Christ  is  genuine  and  com- 
plete. The  spirits  cannot  exhibit  their  lack  of  love 
and  righteousness,  but  they  can  deny  the  One  in  whose 
ways  love  and  righteousness  were  seen  in  perfec- 
tion. Therefore,  for  a  spirit  to  deny  the  coming  of 
Christ  in  the  flesh  is  the  same  thing  in  their  sphere  as 
the  absence  of  righteousness  and  love  in  ours.  "  Grace 
and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ,"  and  the  ''spirit  of 
error ' '  will  deny  these  in  word,  while  we  may  deny 
them  in  deed.  It  may  also  be  added  that  this  denial 
of  the  incarnation  of  Christ  is  a  denial  of  his  Deity. 
The  Deity  or  pre-existence  is  involved  in  the  statement 
that  "  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world."  If  he  were 
merely  a  man  he  could  not  come,  he  would  be  born, 
and  could  appear  in  no  other  way  than  in  the  flesh. 
All  me7i  are  born  of  the  flesh.  Jesus  was  God  manifest 
in  the  flesh.  And  this  denial  is  the  spirit  of  the  Anti- 
christ who  is  yet  to  come  in  the  world,  and  whose  prin- 
ciples are  already  working  in  the  world.  The  word 
"  cometh,"  used  with  reference  to  the  Antichrist,  is  the 
same  as  that  used  with  reference  to  our  Lord. 

The  spirit  of  evil  always  seeks  to  rise  and  rule,  while 
the  spirit  of  good  stoops  to  serve.  Jesus  was  rich  and 
he  became  poor;  he  was  originally  in  the  form  of  God, 
but  did  not  deem  that  condition  a  possession  to  be 
eagerly  retained.  He  emptied  himself  of  his  riches 
and  humbled  himself  from  his  station  so  as  to  become  a 
servant  in  the  likness  of  men,  and  consented  to  suffer 
the  death  of  a  criminal.  This  was  the  deliberately 
chosen  path  in  which  he  delighted  to  walk.     Unless  he 


TRUE    AND    FALSE   SPIRITS  169 

had  really  and  truly  **  come  in  the  flesh,"  this  humili- 
ation was  impossible  on  the  human  plane.  Now  the 
Holy  Spirit  identifies  us  by  regeneration  with  this  very 
Christ.  Being  begotten  of  God,  we  are  of  God,  in- 
dwelt by  his  Spirit,  and  we  are  brought  into  fellowship 
and  sympathy  with  that  love  which  passeth  understand- 
ing, but  which  was  commended  unto  us  by  the  death  of 
Christ  while  we  were  yet  sinners.  Having  our  root  in 
God  we  will  confess,  both  in  heart  and  by  lip  and  life, 
the  same  self-effacing  spirit  that  stoops  to  serve.  For 
' '  if  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ  he  is  none  of 
his."  But  Satan  hates  this  pa!h.  He  has  chosen  the 
exact  opposite  for  himself.  The  evil  spirits  under  his 
control  share  his  feeling,  follow  his  example,  and  deny 
both  the  fad  of  the  incarnation  and  the  grace  which  it 
reveals.  All  who  are  linked  to  this  w^orld  of  evil  Avill 
also  deny  the  supernatural  coming  of  Christ  in  human 
form  and  will  ignore  the  inward  experience  and  out- 
ward walk  unfolding  the  same  divine  grace  and  service. 
"  This  is  the  spirit  of  the  antichrist  whereof  ye  have  heard 
that  it  Cometh;  and  now  it  is  in  the  world  already  "  (4:3). 
We  * '  are  of  God  .  .  .  and  have  overcome ' '  these  evil 
spirits,  "  because  greater  is  he  that  is  in  us  than  he  that 
is  in  the  world  "  (ver.  4).  We  have  overcome  because 
we  have  accepted  the  fact,  and  also,  the  love  and  grace 
manifested  by  the  incarnation  of  Christ.  We  have  be- 
lieved on  the  Son  of  God  and  accepted  the  love  of  God. 
This  has  opened  the  way  for  God  to  come  upon  the 
scene.  In  this  confession  we  owned  the  fact  of  sin  that 
made  the  incarnation  a  necessity,  and  the  love  of  God 


170  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

that  made  it  a  possibility.  We  put  ourselves  in  the 
dust,  where  we  ought  to  be,  and  God  on  the  throne, 
where  he  belongs.  This  brings  us  into  the  midst  of  a 
war  with  the  "  wicked  spirits  in  high  places."  It  is 
the  old  battle  between  ''  the  seed  of  the  woman  "  and 
that  "  of  the  serpent."  In  Adam's  day  of  innocence 
the  dispute  was  about  the  goodness  and  severity  of  God. 
In  Cain's  day  it  was  a  question  of  sin  deserving  death 
and  the  necessity  of  blood -shedding  for  its  remission. 
Since  the  crucifixion  the  question  has  become  more 
definite.  It  is  still  sin  deserving  death,  with  the  added 
fact  that  the  blood  of  Christ  is  the  sole  ground  of  for- 
giveness, acceptance,  and  worship.  To  reach  this  point, 
is  to  overcome  the  greatest  of  foes  and  to  become  a  sub- 
lime victor.  This  is  to  be  in  harmony  with  God  but, 
also  to  become  the  object  of  hate  from  the  unseen  world 
of  fallen  and  rebellious  spirits. 

This  is  not  merely  a  victory  in  discussion  or  in  mental 
conceptions  concerning  Christ,  but  in  the  acceptance  of 
himself.  If  all  men  would  confess  with  the  mouth, 
and  in  heart  and  life,  Christ  as  having  come  in  the 
flesh,  and  also,  the  humbling  truths  into  which  this 
stupendous  event  fits,  the  kingdom  of  Satan  among 
men  and  rebellion  against  God  would  end  at  once. 
But  the  devil  hates  the  thought  of  God  revealing  his 
grace  and  truth  in  human  flesh,  and  begets  the  same 
hatred  in  his  servants. 

False  spirits  have  their  false  teachers,  who  oppose  it 
as  a  superstition  and  ridicule  it  as  an  offense.  They  are 
only  exhibiting  the  spirit  of  the  one  who  sought  to  slay 


TRUE    AND    FALSE    SPIRITS  171 

Christ  through  the  jealousy  of  Herod,  who  betrayed  him 
through  the  cupidity  of  Judas,  and  who,  by  one  su- 
preme effort  of  Satanic  skill,  aimed  to  shipwreck  his  in- 
tegrity by  an  appeal  to  every  human  desire,  through 
the  bribe  of  a  world.  But  our  Lord  triumphed  and 
this  triumph  becomes  our  own.  He  acted  for  us  then  ; 
he  is  in  us  now'. 

Those  w^ho  make  this  confession  are  of  God,  just  as 
truly  as  the  Holy  Spirit  who  makes  this  revelation  in 
the  Scriptures  is  of  God.  We  thus  say  the  same  thing 
as  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  become  identified  with  him  in 
our  testimony.^  The  Spirit  who  testifies  to  the  reality 
of  the  Son  of  God  in  human  flesh,  is  of  God,  and  our 
acceptance  of  this  witness  gives  proof  that  our  inner 
life  is  also  derived  from  God.  But  those  who  deny  the 
incarnation  and  the  grace  which  it  manifested  are  not 
of  God.  Denying  self  for  the  good  of  others,  giving  in- 
stead of  gaining,  stooping  to  help  instead  of  climbing 
to  hinder,  humility  instead  of  pride,  form  part  of  this 
confession.  Jesus  made  everything  subject  to  God  ; 
Satan  would  have  everything  subject  to  man  and  him- 
self at  the  head.  All  modern  tendencies  are  to  measure 
everything  by  the  human  standard  and  to  submit  all  to 
human  judgment  and  opinion.  These  tendencies  lead 
men  to  declare  what  God  o^ight  to  be,  instead  of  accept- 
ing the  revelation  of  himself  as  he  is.  They  make 
men  vainly  talk  of  ''the  Christ  that  is  to  be,"  while 
they  ignore  the  Christ  that  is  and  ever  shall  be.  They 
proudly  sit  in  judgment  upon  the  Scriptures  instead  of 

1  John  15:  26. 


172  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

submitting  to  be  judged  by  them.  False  spirits  and 
false  religions  exalt  man  and  make  most  of  his  needs, 
his  likes,  and  of  what  is  due  to  him.  Man  has  always 
the  first  place  in  their  systems,  while  God  counts  for  lit- 
tle. They  look  at  everything  as  it  concerns  man's  in- 
terests, but  object  to  referring  anything  to  the  sover- 
eignty of  God.  They  prefer  the  accommodation  of 
heaven's  ways  and  rights  to  the  earth,  rather  than  the 
perfect  assimilation  of  earth's  ways  to  heaven.  They 
want  the  stars  to  be  adjusted  to  the  watches  instead  of 
the  watches  to  the  stars.  But  Jesus  always  places  the 
glory,  the  sovereignty,  and  the  will  of  God  first.  If 
we  accept  Christ  as  come  in  the  flesh,  and  thus  become 
identified  with  him  and  filled  with  his  Spirit,  we  over- 
come these  God -dishonoring,  man -pleasing,  and  devil- 
serving  spirits.  Our  humility  is  our  triumph,  our  de- 
basement is  our  exaltation,  and  we  are  victors  over  evil 
when  vanquished  by  God. 

*'  Ye  are  of  God — they  are  of  the  ivorld.''  God  and 
the  world  are  always  set  against  each  other  by  John. 
Just  as  the  branch  has  its  organic  connection  with  the 
root  from  which  it  springs,  so  believer  and  unbeliever 
have  their  origin  and  point  of  contact.  The  one 
springs  out  of  God,  and  the  other  out  of  the  world. 
The  true  believer  has  overcome  these  spirits,  because 
he  is  possessed  of  a  greater  force  than  that  which  is*  in 
the  world.  The  Christian  is  said  to  be  indwelt  by  the 
"  seed,"  "  the  word,"  "  the  unction,"  and  also  by  the 
Father  and  by  the  Son.  As  for  the  world,  however 
many  the  evil  spirits  controlling  it,  they  all  act  under 


TRUE    AND    FALSE   SPIRITS  173 

"  the  prince  of  this  world."  ^  The  world  "  lieth  in  the 
wicked  one. "  ^  But  greater  is  God  in  Christ  who  abides 
in  the  church  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  than  the  evil  spirit 
who  abides  in  the  world. 

Having  considered  the  teaching  of  the  spirits  as  an 
expression  of  their  character,  and  having  pressed  home 
our  duty  to  test  these  spirits  by  their  teaching,  he  pro- 
ceeds to  give  his  instruction  a  more  practical  turn.  The 
meii  through  whom  these  spirits  speak  and  the  hearers 
who  lend  a  submissive  ear  to  their  false  instruction  have 
their  characters  revealed.  "  They  are  of  the  world: 
therefore  speak  they  of  the  worlds  and  the  world  heareth 
them."  Satan  has  formed  this  evil  world  and  out  of  it 
he  has  developed  these  teachers  ;  therefore  they  speak 
of  the  world.  They  draw  the  substance  of  their  teach- 
ing from  the  world  and  it  finds  acceptance  with  the 
kindred  natures  of  the  world.  They  reduce  God's  truth 
to  the  level  of  men's  judgment  and  identify  the  true 
God  with  the  "  god  of  this  world,"  mistaking  the  mate- 
rial progress  of  the  world,  under  the  energy  of  Satan, 
for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  righteousness  and 
peace. 

"He  that  knoweth  God  heareth  us.'"  The  world 
listens  to  those  who  express  its  own  thoughts,  but  the 
Christian  opens  his  mind  and  heart  to  the  one  who 
teaches  him  more  of  God  whom  he  already  knows. 
He  that  is  of  God  heareth  the  words  of  God.^  The 
false  teacher  speaks  of  the  world,  but  the  true  teacher 
speaks  of  God  and  not  of  the  church  or  the  world. 
1  John  12:  31.  2  John  5: 19.  s  John  8  :  47. 


174  THE    FIKST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

Believers  listen  because  the  life  they  possess  needs 
grace  and  peace  multiplied  '  *  through  the  knowledge 
of  God  and  of  Jesus  our  Lord."  ''All  things  that 
pertain  unto  life  and  godliness  "  come  through  the 
"knowledge  of  him  that  hath  called  us  unto  virtue." 
He  who  has  a  progressive  knowledge  of  God,  who 
is  advancing  in  grace  and  knowledge  of  the  truth, 
will  hear  the  true  teacher.  A  man  may  be  "of 
God,"  and  yet  the  old  life  may  have  come  to  the  front 
so  as  to  retard  his  growth.  Such  a  one  may  be  deluded 
by  false  teachers.  But  the  disciple,  marked  by  obedi- 
ence and  growth,  will  always  hear  the  teacher  of  truth. 
There  is  a  striking  correspondence  between  the  spiritual 
intelligence  of  the  man  who  is  of  God  and  the  accepta- 
bility of  the  teachings  Avhich  are  of  God.  The  state  of 
mind  of  the  one  who  tests  and  of  the  person  and  truth 
to  be  tested  are  in  close  relation  to  each  other.  The 
Spirit  opens  the  eyes  to  try  and  he  opens  the  doctrine 
to  be  tried.  The  spiritual  man  who  teaches  will  have 
unfolded  to  him  what  the  spiritual  hearer  receives. 

The  same  is  true  on  the  other  hand  of  the  world  and 
its  false  doctrines.  What  the  true  Christian  is  to  the 
true  teacher,  ' '  the  world  "  is  to  the  false  prophet ;  and 
what  the  true  teacher  is  to  the  believer,  the  false  prophet 
is  to  "the  world."  Each  fits  into  the  other.  The 
world  likes  to  be  flattered  and  readily  receives  what 
corresponds  to  its  own  conceptions. 

The  evil  spirit  forms  the  taste  of  the  world  and  then 
provides  for  it  a  congenial  food.  Christendom  became 
a  "  leavened  lump,"  and  the  spirit  of  error  found  for  it 


TRUE    AND    FALSE   SPIRITS  175 

the  leaven  of  evil  teaching.  The  evil  spirit  sharpens 
the  world's  appetite  for  a  false  kind  of  religious  teach- 
ing and  then  influences  the  teacher  to  furnish  the 
palatable  food.  Hence  false  prophets  are  sure  of  their 
success.  They  arise  out  of  the  world,  of  the  world  they 
speak,  and  *' the  world  heareth  them."  They  catch 
the  spirit  of  the  times  and  voice  the  thought  of  the  age 
which  is  opposed  to  God,  and  those  Avho  belong  to  the 
world  readily  listen.  Satan  cannot  succeed  with  those 
who  are  of  God,  for  he  gives  us  spiritual  intelligence 
and  sympathy  to  try  the  outward  truth  that  is  pre- 
sented. Being  of  God  we  hear  the  truth  that  is  spoken 
by  his  true  servants. 

Satan  is  great  in  power,  wisdom,  and  resources  to 
attain  his  own  devilish  ends.  He  molds  the  world  of 
which  he  is  the  energizing  power.  It  lives,  moves,  and 
has  its  immoral  and  intellectual  being  in  him.  He  dic- 
tates its  laws,  its  code  of  honor,  and  its  pleasures.  He  is 
the  ruler  of  its  darkness.  He  aims  to  have  the  religious 
part  of  this  world  contented  with  the  form  instead  of  the 
power  of  godliness.  He  throws  himself  into  the  world's 
moods  and  controls  its  longings.  Then,  when  all  is  to 
his  liking,  he  prepares  his  prophets  and  teachers  to 
gratify  its  palate.  Sometimes  they  are  men  of  truth  as 
well  as  of  falsehood  ;  sometimes  they  are  holy  men  and 
even  men  of  prayer  and  of  God,  but  men  out  of  pres- 
ent fellowship  with  God.  Then  he  brings  the  men  he 
has  doctored  into  contact  with  the  world  he  has  dis- 
eased and  skillfully  adjusts  the  one  to  the  other.  The 
doctrines  he  prepares  draw  their  inspiration  from  the 


176  THE    FIRST   EPISTLE    OF   JOHN 

world  in  its  spirit,  tendencies,  and  aims,  and  "  the  world 
heareth  them." 

How  many  striking  illustrations  of  this  are  seen  in 
the  history  of  the  church!  All  the  way,  from  the  gross- 
est superstition  to  the  most  ingenious  and  refined  specu- 
lations, from  the  vilest  deeds  to  the  most  amiable  pur- 
poses, has  Satan  been  molding  the  world  of  Christendom 
and  providing  teachers  for  its  tastes.  If  the  world 
wants  a  golden  calf,  there  is  always  an  Aaron  prepared 
to  take  the  women's  jewelry  and  transform  it  from  an 
index  of  pride  to  an  instrument  of  idolatry.  If  the 
people  will  have  smooth  things  spoken  in  a  time  of  peril, 
there  will  always  be  false  prophets  to  utter  them  while 
they  malign  the  Jeremiahs  and  Micaiahs  of  severity 
and  truth.  If  men  grow  weary  of  the  new  wine  of  the 
kingdom,  he  will  give  them  the  old  wine  of  the  flesh. 
He  will  never  mourn  and  the  people  not  lament  ;  he  will 
never  pipe  and  the  people  not  dance.  He  will  prepare 
the  crowd  to  mourn  at  the  lamentation  and  to  dance  at 
the  piping.  He  will  have  a  flock  for  the  teacher  and  a 
teacher  for  the  flock  ;  a  people  for  the  priests  and  priests 
for  the  people. 

Satan  has  a  world  of  his  own  inside  the  professed 
church.  Here  also  he  prepares  false  prophets  to  satisfy 
that  which  is  desired.  If  men  want  a  gospel  that  glorifies 
man,  ministers  to  his  pride,  denies  the  blood  and  the 
atonement,  makes  the  incarnation  a  mere  step  toward 
glorifying  humanity,  instead  of  witnessing  to  its  de- 
pravity— a  gospel  that  speaks  of  the  first  sin  of  the  race 
as  the  "  ascent  "  and  not  the  descent  of  man,  then  that 


TRUE    AND    FALSE   SPIRITS  177 

kind  of  a  gospel  will  soon  be  found.  If  there  comes 
into  any  church  a  craving  for  excitement,  for  signs  and 
wonders,  Satan  will  soon  produce  them.  History  is  full 
of  the  fate  of  strong  men  who  have  been  carried  off 
their  feet  by  the  tide  of  a  popular  desire.  They  drink 
in  their  teachings  from  the  times,  become  intoxicated 
with  their  worldly  dreams,  and  shape  their  lives  to  suit 
the  tastes  of  a  lukewarm  church  walking  arm  in  arm 
with  a  self-satisfied  world. 

But  God  is  stronger  than  Satan  and  is  opposed  to 
the  times.  He  gives  spiritual  discernment  by  which 
we  recognize  the  truth.  He  brings  us  under  condemna- 
tion and  then  tells  us  of  a  Christ  who  was  condemned 
for  us;  he  shows  us  our  lack  of  peace  and  then  tells  us 
of  Christ  whose  chastisement  purchased  our  peace  ;  he 
makes  known  our  iniquity,  and  also  the  One  who  was 
bruised  for  its  cleansing  ;  he  speaks  of  our  disease,  and 
then  points  to  the  One  who  can  heal ;  he  reminds  us  that 
we  are  miserable  and  poor  and  blind  and  naked,  and 
then  commands  us  to  buy  of  him  the  gold  refined  in  the 
fire,  that  we  may  become  rich ;  he  makes  us  thirsty,  and 
then  invites  us  to  the  water  of  life.  Indeed,  he  so  forms 
our  hearts  that  nothing  will  satisfy  us  but  himself. 

"  We  are  of  God,''  saith  the  apostle,  and  "  he  that 
knoweth  God  heareth  us ' ' ;  but  ' '  he  ivho  is  not  of  God 
hear eth  us  not.'"  And  this  is  true  to-day.  The  one 
who  is  not  of  God  will  not  hear,  and  "  hxj  this  we  come 
to  hioiu  the  spirit  of  truth  and  the  spirit  of  error. ' ' 

The  sum  of  the  truths  of  this  passage  seems  to  be  this  : 
God  has  a  people  here  on  earth  who  have  his  Spirit  in 


178  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

them.  By  virtue  of  this  Spirit  they  are  united  to  God. 
In  addition  to  that  there  are  a  great  many  angelic 
agencies  ministering  to  these  people.  On  the  other 
hand  there  is  a  world  both  outside  and  inside  of  this 
professed  church.  This  world  is  conformed  to  Satan 
and  linked  to  him.  Under  him  are  innumerable  agen- 
cies of  ''devils,"  or  demons  of  various  kinds  and  or- 
ders. God  warns  his  people  against  the  influence  of 
these  evil  spirits  and  furnishes  a  means  of  detecting 
them.  Then  he  tells  why  they  have  already  overcome 
these  evil  spirits,  and  how  it  is  that  some  men  will  not 
listen  to  the  testimony  given  by  the  apostles,  but  ivill 
listen  to  the  testimony  given  by  those  who,  under  the 
influence  of  evil  spirits,  are  opposed  to  them.  By  this 
means  men  as  w^ell  as  spirits  are  tested.  The  confession 
or  denial  of  Christ  having  come  in  the  flesh  determines 
the  character  of  spirits.  But  the  men  who  speak  and 
the  men  who  hear  are  also  tested  and  revealed  by  the 
denial  or  confession  of  the  same  truth.  And  in  this 
way  we  come  to  know  the  spirit  of  truth  from  the  spirit 
of  error,  or  the  Spirit  of  God  and  the  agencies  connected 
with  his  Spirit  from  the  spirit  of  Satan  and  the  agencies 
connected  wdth  him. 

These  evil  spirits  manifest  themselves  in  a  two -fold 
way.  First,  they  oppose  those  affections  which  we  see 
in  Jesus  Christ — the  grace  that  led  him  to  leave  his 
riches  for  poverty  and  his  glory  for  shame  that  he 
might  save  men.  Whatever  opposes  these  features  in 
the  life  of  Christ  must  be  called  the  spirit  of  error. 

Secondly,  these  evil  spirits  oppose  the  fact  and  the 


TRUE    AND    FALSE    SPIRITS  179 

belief  that  Jesus  Christ  has  come  in  the  flesh.  They  deny 
the  fact  that  he  has  come  and  the  promise  that  he  will 
come  again. ^  They  speak  learnedly  of  '*  the  essential 
Christ," — whatever  that  means, — but  his  miraculous 
conception,  his  virgin  birth,  his  supernatural  resurrec- 
tion, and  his  glorious  coming  in  person  and  power  they 
deny. 

The  world  will  listen  to  these  vague  and  meaningless 
phrases.  It  is  fashionable  to  honor  the  name  of  Christ 
and  therefore  they  are  glad  to  have  it  retained.  But 
the  lowly  spirit  of  Christ  they  hate,  and  therefore  they 
are  glad  to  have  some  ground  for  denying  the  incarna- 
tion which  makes  it  known.  They  will  retain  the  7iame 
but  will  deny  every  superhuman  fact  that  gives  it 
meaning,  and  every  divine  truth  that  makes  it  our 
"  light  and  salvation." 

The  true  child  of  God,  however,  is  shocked  by  these 
denials  and  turns  away  from  them  all  in  alarm.  These 
are  the  strange  voices  of  false  shepherds.  '*  A  stranger 
will  they  not  follow  but  will  flee  from  him  :  for  they 
know  not  the  voice  of  strangers."  On  the  other  hand, 
"  Why  do  ye  not  understand  my  speech?  Because  ye 
cannot  hear  my  word.  Ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil, 
and  the  lusts  of  your  father  it  is  your  will  to  do."  ''  He 
that  is  of  God  heareth  the  w^ords  of  God ;  for  this  cause 
ye  hear  not,  because  ye  are  not  of  God."  ^  This  tells 
the  whole  story  in  a  sentence. 

1  2  John  7.  2  John  8  :  43-47. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE   WAY    OF    PERFECT    LOVE 

Both  world    and    church  have  been 
1  John  4 :  7-14  .  ,        n  .       ,    . 

considered  in  their  relation  to  the  com- 
pany of  unseen  spirits.  They  are  clearly  distinguished 
from  each  other  even  when  the  world  is  supported  by 
spiritual  powers.  The  church  is  of  God  and  should  be 
inspired  by  the  good  spirits,  while  the  world  is  of  the 
evil  one  and  is  molded  by  spirits  of  error.  They  can 
never  be  made  to  move  in  harmony  without  the  one  or 
the  other  becoming  changed  in  character. 

Having  taken  this  outward  glance  at  the  unseen 
world,  the  author  returns  to  consider  Christians  and 
also  their  conduct  toward  one  another.  It  is  no  longer 
the  believer's  relation  to  good  and  evil  spirits  without,  but 
his  bearing  toward  strong  and  weak  Christians  within. 

''  Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another.''  In  the  region  of 
thought  the  confession  of  Christ,  as  having  come  in  the 
flesh,  was  shown  to  be  fundamental.  It  was  the  test 
of  whether  spirits  were  of  God  or  of  the  evil  one,  of  the 
truth  or  of  error.  But  in  the  region  of  action  love 
among  the  brotherhood  is  the  distinctive  mark  of  the 
divine  life.  The  confession  or  denial  of  the  incarnation 
determines  the  character  of  spirits,  but  the  practice  or 
denial  of  love  determines  the  character  of  men. 
180 


THE    WAY    OF    PERFECT    LOVE  181 

This  relation  to  one  another  (^alXr^lou^ — allelous),  has  a 
striking  prominence  in  the  New  Testament.  Jesus  said, 
*  'A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one 
another."  He  has  illustrated  this  new  principle  by 
washing  the  disciples'  feet  and  ended  by  saying,  ' '  Ye 
also  ought  to  wash  one  another's  feet."  We  are  mem- 
bers one  of  another,  and  therefore  should  not  lie  one  to 
another  ;  we  are  to  submit  ourselves  to  one  another  arid 
yet  to  admonish  one  another  ;  to  receive  one  another  as 
the  Lord  hath  received  us  and  to  speak  no  evil  of  one  an- 
other ;  to  use  hospitality  to  one  another  and  to  be  like- 
minded  to  one  another  ;  to  have  an  inward  spirit  so  that 
in  honor  we  shall  prefer  one  another  and  in  desire  pray 
for  one  another  ;  we  are  not  to  judge  one  another  any 
more,  for  we  are  one  body  in  Christ  and  severally  mem- 
bers one  of  another  ;  we  are  to  confess  our  faults  to  one 
another  and  to  forbear  one  another  in  love  ;  to  have  the 
same  mind  one  toward  another  and  to  be  kindly  affec- 
tioned  one  to  another  in  brotherly  love  ;  to  bear  one 
another's  burdens  and,  through  love,  to  be  servants  one 
to  another ;  to  consider  one  another  that  we  may  pro- 
voke one  another  to  love  and  to  good  works;  to  com- 
fort one  another  with  words  concerning  the  good  hope  of 
the  coming  of  the  Lord  and  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
AVe  are  exhorted  to  be  kind  to  one  another,  tender- 
hearted, forgiving  one  another  ;  to  abound  in  love  one 
to  another  and  to  be  careful  to  love  one  another  with 
pure  hearts  fervently.  And  then  we  have  that  precious 
gem  in  the  Pauline  Epistle  of  love  :  ' '  If  there  be  any 
comfort  coming  from  Christ,  if  any  consolation  growing 


182  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

out  of  love,  if  any  fellowship  as  the  result  of  the  in- 
dwelling Spirit,  if  any  tender  mercies  and  compassions, 
fulfill  ye  my  joy  that  ye  be  of  the  same  mind,  having 
the  same  love,  being  of  one  accord,  of  one  soul,  doing 
nothing  through  faction  or  vain  glory,  but  in  lowliness 
of  mind  esteeming  07ie  another  better  than  yourselves  ' ' 
(Phil.  2  :  1-4) .  And  finally,  in  our  Epistle,  we  have  the 
climax  :  "If  we  love  one  another  God  abideth  in  us 
and  we  in  God."  What  a  cluster  of  tender  exhorta- 
tions are  here  in  the  relation  of  the  brotherhood  of 
Christians  bound  together  by  the  sweet  chords  of 
charity.  Surely  this  is  the  ''kingdom  come,"  the 
will  of  God  ''done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."  It 
is  heaven  in  germ  and  principle.  In  this  sense  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  already  within  us,  and,  when  estab- 
lished on  the  earth  this  condition  will  become  universal. 
All  love  is  of  God  ;  it  is  of  his  essence.  It  is  com- 
municated and  not  created.  It  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  be. 
God  alone  is  capable  of  love  such  as  was  manifested  in 
the  gift  of  his  Son.  We  too  become  capable  of  its  holy 
passion  when  begotten  again.  It  is  the  only  process 
through  wdiich  this  love  can  come,  and  the  fact  of  its 
existence  in  iis  is  proof  that  we  are  of  God.  He  that 
loveth  is  begotten  of  God.  His  origin  is  in  God  and 
the  connecting  link  remains  unbroken.  His  love  shows 
that  his  spiritual  being  is  from  God  and  that  he  is  in 
active  sympathy  with  God.  He  knows  God  experi- 
mentally and  habitually  and  recognizes  every  further 
revelation,  more  fully  unfolding  his  character.  If  we 
are  of  God,  we  ought  to  give  proof  of  our  origin  by  lov- 


THE    WAY    OF    PERFECT*  LOVE  183 

ing  those  begotten  of  God.  If  the  sun  is  heat  and  light 
it  cannot  send  out  what  is  cold  and  dark.  If  by  re- 
generation we  are  human  reproductions  of  God  then 
ive  shall  love  one  another.  "  We  know  that  we  have 
passed  from  death  unto  life  because  we  love  the  breth- 
ren." There  is  one  eternally  and  only  begotten  Son  of 
God,  and  he  loves.  The  sons  of  God,  begotten  in  time, 
have  the  same  nature  of  love. 

He  also  "  hioweth  God.'"  We  are  incapable  of  this 
knowledge  until  we  are  born  again.  The  possession  of 
the  divine  nature  is  necessary  to  the  understanding  of 
what  that  nature  really  is.  It  is  a  knowledge  of  which 
one  who  is  only  a  creature  of  God's  hand  is  utterly 
incapable,  however  wise  and  learned.  He  lacks  the 
capacity  to  grasp  it.  The  Son  alone  knoweth  the 
Father,  and  he  alone  can  reveal  him  to  those  who  have 
the  spirit  and  nature  of  sons. ^ 

Indeed,  everything  depends  on  a  participation  in  the 
divine  nature.  "  He  that  loveth  not,  hioweth  not  God,'* 
no  matter  how  religious  he  may  be.  It  is  not  religion 
but  life  that  unites  us  to  God.  Having  the  life  of  the 
Son,  we  have  the  love  and  the  knowledge  of  the  Son.^ 
The  only  proof  that  we  know  God  is  that  we  are  like 
him  in  love.  This  is  deeper  than  the  previous  thought 
of  keeping  the  commandments.^  That  was  outward 
conformity  to  his  revelation,  while  this  is  inward  union 
with  his  nature.  And  the  man  who  loves  not,  knows 
not  our  God.  It  is  the  same  fellowship  with  God  that 
we  saw  in  the  first  chapter.  It  is  union  with  God  as 
1  Matt.  11 :  27.  a  John  17  :  25.  ^  john  2  :  2-5. 


184  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

he  is  in  himself  and  not  merely  delight  in  his  ivays  or 
his  works.  God  is  light  and  we  walk  within  its  glow  ; 
he  is  love  and  we  share  its  fervor.  We  enjoy  the  light, 
but  we  feel  the  love.  Step  by  step  we  rise.  We  keep 
the  commandments,  we  acquiesce  in  the  doings,  and  we 
share  the  nature  of  the  only  God.  It  is  the  Lord's 
prayer  realized,  '*  I  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that  they 
may  be  perfected  in  one." 

The  reason  of  this  is  evident,  ''for  God  is  love.'' 
Love  is  of  the  very  essence  of  his  nature.  Even  justice 
is  but  one  manifestation  of  his  love.  The  more  tenderly 
a  mother  loves  her  child,  the  more  severely  will  she 
resent  any  attempt  to  do  him  hurt.  Love  wdll  seek 
the  good  of  all  who  are  the  objects  of  its  affection,  even 
when  justice  demands  the  punishment  of  those  who 
would  do  them  wrong.  Since  the  essence  of  God  is  love, 
the  one  who  does  not  love  can  never  have  known  him. 
Not  to  love  is  to  be  ignorant  of  love,  and  to  be  ignorant 
of  love  is  to  be  ignorant  of  God,  for  God  is  love. 

It  is  of  the  nature  of  love  to  make  sacrifice  for  the 
good  of  others.  The  extent  of  the  sacrifice  measures 
the  depth  of  the  love.  God's  love  is  like  himself ;  it  is 
infinite,  and  it  stops  at  no  sacrifice  in  giving  blessing  to 
his  creatures.  It  is  exercised  toward  us,  in  us,  through 
us,  and  for  us. 

According  to  the  teaching  of  John  here,  it  comes  to 
us  first  of  all  in  the  incarnation — Jesus  coming  from 
God  in  the  flesh.  It  is  a  love  that  is  not  merely  mani- 
fested by  or  through  our  Lord,  but  in  him.  Creation, 
even  under  the  curse,  may  still  show  something  of  the 


THE  WAY  OF  PERFECT  LOVE       185 

love  of  God.  But  Jesus  is  the  beginuing  of  the  brighter 
light  of  the  new  creation  unmarred  by  the  soiling  of 
sin.  The  doings  and  the  teachings  of  Christ  were  ex- 
hibitions of  his  love,  but  its  climax  is  seen  in  himself. 
God  is  love,  and  that  love  is  seen,  is  unfolded  to  view, 
by  the  sending  of  ' '  his  only  begotten  Son  into  the  world. ' ' 
It  was  God  as  God,  and  not  the  Father,  who  sent  his 
Son  into  the  world.  It  was  God,  in  his  eternal  relation 
to  all  men  and  things,  and  the  Son,  in  all  of  his  divine 
majesty  and  preciousness  to  his  Father's  heart,  who  was 
sent  and  who  came  into  the  world.  The  sending  and 
the  coming,  therefore,  were  an  exhibition  of  that  love 
that  always  was  in  the  heart  of  God,  but  never  before 
found  an  adequate  expression.  The  coming  of  the  Son 
was  not  the  price,  but  the  gift,  of  his  matchless  love. 

It  is  a  love  of  which  we  are  naturally  incapable  and 
of  which  we  could  form  no  adequate  conception — it  is  all 
divine.  And  as  he  alone  was  qualified  to  reveal  the 
love,  because  he  is  the  Son  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father, 
so  we  can  only  know  and  feel  this  love  when  we  become 
the  children  of  God  by  birth  from  the  Father.  There- 
fore it  is  love  in  us  (iv  ;y/iTv — en  hemin)  and  not 
merely  toward  us.  We  are  the  occasion  of  its  mani- 
festation and  the  medium  in  which  it  was  effective. 
Sharing  the  life  of  Christ,  we  become  a  secondary  sign 
of  this  divine  love.  It  is  the  manifested  love  of  God  to 
man  repeating  itself  in  man. 

Again,  the  benevolent  purpose  of  Christ's  coming  re- 
vealed with  still  greater  emphasis  this  love,  ' '  that  ive 
might  live  through  him.''     We  were  dead  and  he  came 


186  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

that  we  might  live,  not  merely  that  we  might  be  saved. 
He  came  as  the  active  expression  of  love  that  we  might 
become  living  exponents  of  that  same  divine  life  of  love. 
It  is  the  activity  of  life  that  John  always  has  in  view, 
rather  than  the  security  of  salvation.  This  is  life  in 
reality  and  not  mere  existence.  It  is  life  in  union  with 
the  great  fountain  of  life,  joyous  and  Christlike.  God 
sent  the  best  he  had,^  to  impart  to  us  the  best  that  we 
are  capable  of  receiving,  his  Son,  who  was  the  embodi- 
ment of  his  love. 

But  this  love  went  still  further.  Not  only  has  it 
come  into  the  world  that  we  might  live,  but  that  we 
might  be  forgiven.  We  were  dead  and  he  came  to  give 
life  ;  we  were  guilty  and  he  came  to  make  '^  propitia- 
tion for  our  sins."  This  love  was  seen  in  the  Son's  com- 
ing into  the  world,  and  the  vision  brightens  when  we 
learn  that  he  came  that  we  might  live  ;  but  it  grows 
brightest  of  all  when  we  see  him  dying,  "  the  just  for 
the  unjust,  to  bring  us  to  God. ' '  If  man  had  not  fallen, 
the  incarnation  would  have  been  enough  to  reveal  the 
character  and  love  of  God.  To  indulge  speculation  is 
not  wise  where  God  has  been  silent.  Still,  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  in  the  absence  of  sin  the  incarnation  was  pos- 
sible and  probable,  but  the  crucifixion  would  have  been 
impossible.  Man  being  a  sinner,  Christ  must  die  both 
as  a  man  and  as  a  sinner.^  He  did  not  die  on  the 
accursed  tree,  but  he  became  a  curse  himself.^  He 
came  where  we  were,  in  the  place  of  cursing,  and  there- 
fore died  on  the  tree,  the  symbol  of  cursing,  to  be  the 

1  Mark  12  :  6.  ^2  Cor.  5  :  21.  3  Gal.  3  :  13. 


THE  WAY  OF  PEKFECT  LOVE       187 

propitiation  for  our  sins.  Here  at  the  cross,  in  the  place 
of  cursing,  is  where  he  found  humanity,  and  not  at  his 
birth.  Here  is  where  the  veil  of  the  temple  was  rent 
and  the  graves  were  opened,  types  of  sin  put  away  and 
life  secured.  Had  he  stopped  short  of  the  cross,  these 
had  never  been  secured.  What  marvelous  love  !  For 
the  mighty  Son  to  have  become  a  babe  and  the  One  in 
the  form  of  God  to  take  the  guise  of  a  servant  is  mar- 
velous, but  the  climax  is  reached  when  the  sinless  Son 
is  made  sin  for  us.  It  was  the  love  of  God  seen  m  his 
Son.  The  sacrifice  of  the  eternal  God  in  sending,  was 
not  less  than  that  of  the  Son  in  coming  ;  the  love  in 
giving  was  no  less  than  the  love  in  dying.  "  Herein  is 
love." 

This  love  did  not  originate  in  us,  it  did  not  begin 
with  man,  but  with  God.  Whatever  love  man  may 
have  is  but  the  result,  the  faint  echo,  of  a  note  of  love 
as  deep  and  welcome  as  it  is  sweet  and  divine.  "  While 
we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly." 
*' Herein  is  love,  not  that  ive  loved  God,  but  that  he 
loved  iis."  We  learn  love,  not  from  its  poor  results  in 
ourselves,  but  from  its  perfection  in  God  as  manifested 
to  us.  AVe  know  it  by  the  gift  of  the  Son  and  we  en- 
joy it  by  participating  in  his  life.  The  proof  and  na- 
ture of  this  love  are  given  in  that  which  is  wholly  out- 
side of  ourselves.  We  know  what  love  is  and  w^hen  and 
how  it  is  revealed.  It  was  perfect  in  God  when  we 
had  no  love,  and  perfect  in  its  manifestation  toward  us. 
We  know  that  it  is  not  in  ourselves,  but  in  God,  com- 
ing to  us  when  we  were  destitute  of  its  experience. 


188  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

Now  this  is  a  doctrine  and  it  has  a  duty.  This  is  a 
great  fact,  and  when  known  it  creates  a  great  obliga- 
tion. The  doctrine  being  accepted  and  the  fact  received, 
then  will  come  the  sweetest  fellowship  with  God  and  the 
most  blessed  results  among  men.  How  could  it  be 
otherwise  ?  We  are  not  merely  treading  on  heaven's 
borderland  here,  we  are  in  heaven  itself.  Nay  more, 
we  have  been  looking  into  the  heart  and  considering  the 
overflowing  wealth  and  glory  of  Him  whose  presence 
creates  heaven.  Let  us  uncover  both  head  and  feet ; 
let  us  bow  to  the  duty  and  take  up  the  obligation  with 
the  same  joy  which  we  experience  in  accepting  the  gift. 

'  'IJ  God  so  loved  us,  we  ought  also  to  love  one  another. ' ' 
Surely  this  is  true.  We  ought  to  love  in  the  same  way 
and  the  same  persons  as  our  God  and  Father  loves. 
The  children  ought  to  show  the  characteristics  of  the 
Father.  The  great  incentive  to  our  love  is  God's  won- 
derful love  to  us.  ^  We  must  love,  for  God  loves  ;  we 
must  forgive,  for  he  forgives.  The  natural  converse  of 
"  God  so  loved  us  "  would  be,  '*  we  ought  to  love  God." 
But  it  is  through  human  affections  and  duties  to  human 
beings  that  the  divine  life  and  love  are  manifested.  We 
are  to  love  as  he  loves,  to  love  all  whom  he  loves,  and 
to  love  them  with  his  own  great  love  flowing  through 
the  channel  of  our  straitened  hearts — *'  ive  ought  also  to 
love  one  another.''^ 

We  have  not  seen  God,  we  cannot  see  him.  No  one 
has  ever  seen  him.  In  John's  Gospel  (1  :  18),  it  is  rather, 
no  man  hath  obtained  a  view  of  God  suflSciently  clear 

1  Eph.  4:3;  6:  1,2;  Col.  3  :  13. 


THE  WAY  OF  PERFECT  LOVE       189 

to  found  a  revelation.  But  here  the  very  word  used  indi- 
cates a  co^fi/i  if  otts  beholding,  which  might  secure  fellow- 
ship. In  Exod.  24  :  10  it  is  said  that  "  the  elders  saw 
God  and  did  eat  and  drink,"  while  in  the  thirty -third 
chapter  of  the  same  book  it  is  said,  ''  man  shall  not  see 
me  and  live."  Manoah  said  :  *'  We  shall  surely  die,  for 
we  have  seen  God."  ^  The  apparent  contradictions  are 
explained  when  we  remember  that  there  is  an  unrevealed 
glory  of  God,  "dwelling  in  light  and  unapproach- 
able. ' '  ^  No  man  can  see  that  glory  ;  but  in  '  *  the  Angel 
of  the  Lord  ' '  and  in  the  * '  cleft  of  the  rock  ' '  of  the 
Old  Testament  there  were  manifestations  of  God.  They 
were  partial  revelations  of  which  Jesus  is  the  fullness,  for 
he  could  say,  ' '  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the 
Father."" 

Although  we  cannot  see  God,  we  know  that  he  is  not 
far  away  from  us  and  may  be  in  us,  the  life  of  our  lives 
and  the  love  of  our  loves.  It  is  most  interesting  to  see 
that  in  the  Gospel,  when  it  is  said,  "  no  man  hath  seen 
God,"  the  answer  to  that  unsatisfied  desire  is,  "  the  only 
begotten  Son  who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he  hath 
declared  him,"  hath  given  him  an  exegesis.  He  who 
was  nearest  and  dearest  to  the  Father,  who  as  Son  knew 
the  Father,  has  revealed  him  to  man.  Here  in  the 
Epistle,  however,  the  answer  to  the  same  unfilled  longing 
is,  "  if  ive  love  one  another,  God  abideth  in  us.^'  "  No 
man  hath  beheld  God  at  any  time  ' '  ;  but  in  loving  one 
another,  we  are  assured  of  something  better  than  a  mere 
sight  of  God,  he  abides  in  us.     By  the  impartation  of 

1  Judg.  13  :  21-23.  2  i  Tim.  6:16.  3  John  14  :  6-9. 


190  THE    FIKST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

his  nature  and  by  the  gift  of  his  Spirit,  leading  us  to 
love  one  another,  God  dwells  in  us  as  he  has  been  made 
known  to  us  in  his  Son.  The  God  who  was  made 
known  by  the  Son  dwells  in  us.  If  no  one  has  seen 
God,  the  answer  to  the  desire  for  the  vision  is,  he  was 
revealed  in  his  Son  and  he  dwells  in  us. 

Active  love  to  one  another  is  witness  to  the  indwell- 
ing of  God.  He  does  not  say,  he  only  suggests,  that  he 
is  revealed  in  us  as  he  was  revealed  in  the  Son.  The 
obligation  is  suggested  by  the  wondrous  thought  of  the 
indwelling  God,  and  the  association  in  such  glory  with 
the  Son  of  God.  How  this  throws  light  on  a  former 
saying,  *'  which  thing  is  true  in  him  and  in  you."  God 
in  him  and  in  us,  manifested  in  him  and  in  our  measure 
in  us,  loving  in  him  and  in  us.  Here  again  the  Epistle 
fits  into  the  Gospel.  The  life  and  love  that  ivere  in 
Christ  as  the  Son  of  God  are  now  in  us  as  the  sons  of 
God. 

* '  His  love  ' '  is  more  than  the  love  that  he  has  to  us, 
or  the  love  that  we  have  to  him.  It  is  the  love  which 
is  his  essence,  which  answers  to  his  nature,  and  which 
has  its  origin  in  him.  That  love  is  perfected  in  us 
when  we  love  one  another.  So  that  loving  one  another 
proves  both  the  indwelling  of  God  and  the  presence  of 
divine  love  in  the  most  perfect  form.  Man  has  then 
received  God's  love  and  made  it  his  own.  Therefore, 
God's  love  has  found  its  fulfillment,  has  attained  its 
end  on  the  earth.  And  this  is  God's  love  perfected  in 
us.  That  great  end  set  before  the  love  of  God  is 
reached  when  we  love  one  another.     In  ourselves  we 


THE  WAY  OF  PERFECT  LOVE       191 

are  still  imperfect,  but  the  love  has  reached  its  end  and 
aim  and  it  is  made  perfect.  What  higher  point  can 
men  reach  than  to  love  what  God  loves  and  to  love  as 
he  loves  ?  And  this  is  not  a  point  reached  by  effort  on 
our  part,  but  by  God  dwelling  in  us  and  loving  his  own 
love  through  us.  "His  love  is  perfected  in  ws. "  So 
that  it  is  not  an  effort  on  our  part  to  imitate  him  ;  it 
is  rather  an  abandonment  of  ourselves  to  him  so  that 
he  may  live  and  shine  and  love  through  us  ;  not  imita- 
tion, but  the  reproduction  of  Christ  is  the  point  reached. 

Has  our  love  reached  this  point  ?  Does  it  go  out  to 
the  seen  world,  to  men  ?  Do  we  love  the  men  we  see 
just  as  God  loves  us  in  spite  of  what  he  sees?  And  is 
our  love  deep,  genuine,  and  beneficent  as  God's  love  ? 
Are  those  who  are  unamiable  and  unattractive  loved  by 
us  ?  Is  our  love  quenched  by  the  repellent  things 
which  we  see  ?  Do  the  misery  of  the  lost  and  the  sor- 
rows of  the  saved  attract  us  as  they  do  God  ?  Do  sin- 
ners in  their  sins  attract  our  hearts  as  they  attract  the 
heart  of  God  ?  In  other  words,  are  we  looking  at  our 
fellow-creatures  through  the  eyes  of  the  world  or 
through  the  eyes  of  God  ?  We  need  to  see  as  God 
sees,  that  we  may  love  as  he  loves.  And  this  love 
should  have  the  same  character  and  go  out  to  the  same 
objects  as  the  love  which  glows  in  the  heart  of  God. 
God's  love  is  self-sacrificing,  communicating,  and  benefi- 
cent, and  it  goes  out  toward  all  mankind.  Is  this  the 
manner  of  love  with  us  ? 

If  we  have  reached  this  point,  then  two  very  solemn 
things  follow.    First,  we  are  the  means  or  agents  through 


192  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

which  his  love  is  perfected.  In  us  it  finds  its  comple- 
tion. Beyond  us  there  is  no  chance  for  its  manifesta- 
tion. God  has  nothing  further  that  he  can  disclose  to 
remove  the  sin,  to  melt  the  hardness,  or  to  attract  the 
heart  of  the  human  race.  His  heart  has  been  laid  bare 
and  there  is  nothing  beyond.  Secondly,  the  reproduc- 
tion of  the  love  of  God  in  us  is  the  last  and  crowning 
act  of  God's  mercy  to  the  world.  It  is  the  last  sight  the 
world  will  ever  have  of  that  divine,  self-sacrificing,  sin- 
ner-forgiving, never-ceasing,  overflowing  love  of  God. 
When  the  brotherhood  of  believers  is  removed  from  the 
world,  or  when  the  world  is  removed  from  this  divinely 
indwelt  part  of  humanity,  then  fareivell  to  all  sight  of 
love  !  God  has  nothing  further  on  which  to  base  a  sec- 
ond probation — the  end  has  come. 

Thus  we  see  this  love  in  its  various  stages  :  first,  in  the 
heart  of  God  ;  then  shining  in  the  incarnation  of  Christ  ; 
then  brightening  in  its  gracious  purpose  to  cause  us  to 
live  ;  then  culminating  in  going  to  the  cross  to  make  pro- 
pitiation ;  and  last  of  all,  re-incarnating  itself  in  the 
church  and  repeating  its  benevolent  and  beneficent  ways 
toward  an  unloving,  unlovable,  and  rebellious  world. 
**  Hereby  know  ive  that  we  abide  in  him,  and  he  in  us,  be- 
cause he  has  given  us  of  his  Spirit. ' '  We  participate 
by  the  presence  of  his  Spirit  in  the  divine  afifection. 
We  thus  know  that  he  dwells  in  us  and  the  Spirit 
makes  us  conscious  of  his  presence.  And  thus  in  the 
savor  and  consciousness  of  that  love  we,  with  John, 
have  beheld  and  bear  witness  that  "the  Father  hath 
sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world." 


1  John  4  ••  14-21 


CHAPTER  XIV 

AS  HE  IS,  SO  ARE  WE 

In  the  previous  chapter  we  saw  the 
perfect  love  of  God  attaining  a  perfect 
manifestation  in  the  sphere  of  man.  It  came  from  God 
as  its  fountain,  through  the  Son  as  its  channel,  into  the 
world  as  its  sphere,  and  unto  us,  under  the  curse  because 
of  sin,  as  its  objects.  It  continues  to  come  and  finds  its 
goal  and  perfection  when  we  love  as  God  loves.  ' '  The 
love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  given  unto  us,"  although  John  does  not  present 
that  side  of  this  truth.  He  steadily  keeps  to  his  central 
thought  of  life.  He  links  us  in  a  common  life  to  God, 
and  * '  w^e  abide  in  him  and  he  in  us, ' '  and  this  Ave 
know  *'  because  he  hath  given  us  of  his  Spirit."  This 
life,  fostered  by  ' '  the  love  of  the  Spirit, ' '  goes  out  from 
us  in  its  sympathy  and  activity  as  from  the  God  of 
love,  and  in  us  it  is  made  perfect.  It  is  a  love  that 
came  from  God  in  "the  only  begotten  Son,"  and  it 
continues  to  come  through  the  ' '  many  sons  ' '  begotten 
again,  exhibiting  the  same  traits  and  lavishing  its 
wealth  upon  the  same  objects  in  us  as  in  him. 

We  are  now  to  see  this  love  casting  out  fear  from  the 
heart  and  producing  active  benevolence  in  the  life. 

The  apostle  has  just  shown  that  the  love  of  God  was 

193 


194  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

manifested  in  the  coming  of  Jesus.  The  Spirit  in  our 
hearts  is  the  internal  evidence  that  we  have  been 
reached  by  this  love.  He  also  declared  that  Jesus,  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God,  was  sent  into  the  world,  that 
he  had  already  come,  and  that  the  purposes  of  his  com- 
ing were  to  give  us  life  and  to  make  propitiation  for  our 
sins.  He  now  declares  that  he  has  seen — contemplated 
carefully — this  expression  of  love  and  bears  witness  that 
*'  the  Father  hath  sent  the  Son,  the  Saviour  oftheivorld/^ 
His  work  was  sufficient  for  the  tvhole  world.  Only  in 
one  other  place  does  John's  thought  extend  to  the  ut- 
most bounds  of  the  human  race.  The  Samaritans,  af- 
ter having  believed  because  of  the  testimony  of  the 
w^oman  who  saw  the  Lord,  said  :  ' '  We  have  heard  for 
ourselves  and  know  that  this  is  indeed  the  Saviour  of 
the  world."  And  he  is  indeed  the  Saviour  of  all  men, 
especially  of  them  that  believe.^ 

Since  this  is  true,  it  necessarily  follows  that  if  any 
are  not  saved,  it  is  not  the  fault  of  the  plan  of  God  nor 
of  the  work  of  his  Son.  The  fault  is  with  those  who 
will  not  conform  to  the  one  nor  accept  the  other.  The 
infinite  misery  of  the  world  was  that  it  did  not  recog- 
nize and  cherish  the  love  that  God  manifested  toward 
it.  The  world  denied,  and  still  denies,  such  love  and  re- 
fuses to  have  communion  with  it.     John  bore  witness 


11.  In  bearing  the  "  sin  of  the  world,"  whatever  guilt  attached  to  man, 
because  of  his  connection  with  the  head  of  the  race,  was  removed. 
Therefore,  the  "  world  "  before  actual  sin  is  saved.  For  the  same  reason 
infants  and  idiots  are  saved.  2.  Forgiveness  and  repentance  are  offered 
to  all  in  good  faith  through  Christ ;  he  is  "  Saviour  of  all  and  specially 
of  them  that  believe." 


AS    HE    IS,  SO    ARE    WE  195 

to  what  he  saw  and  thus  left  the  world  without  excuse. 
The  Christian  faith  rests  upon  the  historic  revelation  of 
the  divine  nature  made  known  by  competent  witnesses, 
so  that  man's  unbelief  is  without  any  reason  for  its  ex- 
istence. 

The  confession  of  Christ  by  us  is  now  mentioned  for 
the  third  time  :  ' '  He  that  confesseth  the  Son  hath  the 
Father "  ;  "  Every  spirit  that  confesseth  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  of  God  "  ;  "  Whosoever 
confesseth  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God,  God  abideth  in 
him,  and  he  in  God.^'  When  Peter  confessed  that 
Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God,  the  Master  declared  that  no 
human  power,  nothing  short  of  the  grace  of  the  Father, 
made  that  known  to  him.  And  Paul  declares  that 
' '  no  man  can  say  Jesus  is  Lord  but  by  the  Holy 
Spirit."  It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  recognition  of 
the  true  character  of  Christ  is  proof  of  the  gracious 
working  and  indwelling  of  God  by  his  Spirit.  To  make 
the  confession  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God  proves  that 
God  dwells  in  the  one  who  makes  it.  Jesus  was  de- 
clared, marked  off",  to  be  the  Son  of  God  in  a  sphere 
of  power,  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead.^  To  con- 
fess him  as  the  Son  is,  therefore,  to  acknowledge  his 
death  and  resurrection  in  giving  satisfaction  to  the 
Father  for  our  sins.  It  is  saying  back  to  God  the  very 
things  he  has  said  to  us  concerning  his  Son  by  raising 
him  from  among  the  dead.  In  making  this  confession 
we  follow  in  thought  and  feeling  God's  dealing  with 
his  Son  in  our  behalf  until  we  see  him  risen  from  the 

1  Rom.  1 : 4 
O 


196  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

dead,  God  satisfied  with  his  ivork  aud  ive  satisfied  ivith 
his  salvation.  The  recognition,  therefore,  of  the  reve- 
lation of  God,  accomplishing  salvation  in  his  Son,  is  the 
sign  of  his  presence.  The  confessor  dwells  in  God  and 
God  in  him.  The  acknowledgment  of  the  deity  of 
Christ  is  the  foundation  of  our  salvation  and  is  essential 
to  the  Christian  faith.  Limiting  our  fellowship  to  the 
circle  of  those  who  acknowledge  a  divine  Saviour  is, 
therefore,  not  a  mattei*  of  choice,  it  is  a  question  of  loy- 
alty and  of  obedience. 

God  in  us  and  w^e  in  God.  This  complementary 
view  of  the  Christian  life  is  presented  by  John  in  many 
ways.  God's  love  abides  in  the  believer  and  the  be- 
liever in  love.  *  Eternal  life  abides  in  him  and  also  in 
the  Son.^  The  truth  is  in  him  and  he  walks  in  the 
truth.  ^  The  w'ord  abides  in  him  and  he  abides  in  the 
word  of  God.*  He  abides  in  the  light  and  the  unction 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  abides  in  him.^  **  He  that  abideth 
in  love  abideth  in  God  and  God  abideth  in  him." 

*  *  We  know  and  have  believed. ' '  Sometimes  we  be- 
lieve to  know  and  sometimes  we  know  to  believe.  It 
is  true  that  we  must  understand  the  one  we  trust  before 
we  can  exercise  unreserved  faith.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  true  faith  opens  the  way  to  fuller  knowledge 
of  the  one  trusted.  To  trust  Christ  and  to  surrender 
all  to  him  prepares  the  way  for  fuller  knowledge  and 
loftier  communion.  Here  knowledge  leads  to  faith. 
We  know  that  the  love  of  God  gave  Christ  to  die  and 

»3:  17;  4:16.       2  3  ;  15  ;  5  .•  n.      3i:8;2John4.      *2  :  14  ;  John  8  :  31. 
5  2:9,  27. 


AS    HE   IS,  SO   ARE   WE  197 

we  are  led  to  the  exercise  of  faith  because  of  our  knowl- 
edge of  that  marvelous  fact. 

In  ver.  14  of  this  chapter,  John  says  :  ''We  have  be- 
held and  bare  witness  that  the  Father  hath  sent  the 
Son."  Here  he  declares,  "  We  know  and  have  believed 
the  love  which  God  hath  in  us."  How  simple  and  real 
to  the  one  who  believes.  We  have  known  this  love,  but 
we  have  not  exhausted  its  meaning.  We  know  that  w^e 
are  the  objects  of  that  love  and  that  God  has  shown 
it  toward  us.  This  is  infinitely  better  than  trying  to 
persuade  ourselves  that  we  love  him.  It  is  a  richer  por- 
tion to  be  loved  by  him  than  to  have  love  for  him. 

But  those  who  believe  partake  of  Christ's  life  through 
whom  the  love  was  shown,  and  thus  they  themselves 
become  the  sphere  in  which  this  love  makes  itself  felt. 
The  love  becomes  a  power  in  the  Christian  body  and 
repeats  itself.  And  on  this  side  of  the  truth  John  now 
enters  ;  but,  not  until  he  recurs  again  to  the  great 
fountain  of  all  his  thoughts  and  the  foundation  of  all  his 
hopes,  "  God  is  love;  and  he  that  abideth  in  love  abideth 
in  God,  and  God  abideth  in  him.'''  If  he  did  not  abide 
in  us  we  could  not  and  would  not  love.  Loving  one 
another  and  abiding  in  love  are  evidences  of  God  dwell- 
ing in  us.  Love  is  not  an  accident  in  God.  It  is  not  a 
caprice  for  certain  times  and  certain  people,  but  that 
which  is  "the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever," 
and  has  no  respect  of  persons.  Abiding  in  God  we  will 
abide  in  love  as  our  native  soil.  We  will  revel  in  love, 
as  if  "  to  the  manner  born. "  We  ought  to  be  engaged 
in  loving  deeds,  as  the  essence  and  aim  of  our  lives,  to 


198  THE    FIRST   EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

give  proof  that  we  abide  in  the  God  of  love.  By  dwell- 
ing in  love,  and  by  letting  love  permeate  and  govei'n  us, 
we  dwell  in  God  and  God  dwells  in  us.  Here  John  has 
reached  the  very  heart  of  the  universe.  The  secret  of 
the  Eternal  is  discovered,  and  we  dwell  in  this  "  secret 
place  of  the  Most  High  and  abide  under  the  shadow  of 
the  Almighty. ' '  The  essential  essence  of  God  is  love, 
and  that  love  is  our  home. 

In  this  double  relation  of  God  in  us  and  we  in  God, 
love  is  perfected  in  us.  Three  times  love  is  spoken  of 
in  this  Epistle  as  becoming  perfect  :  In  the  second 
chapter,  love  is  made  perfect  in  the  believer  when  he 
keeps  God's  commandments  ;  in  the  twelfth  verse  of 
this  chapter,  it  is  perfect  in  the  church  when  we  love 
one  another;  and  here,  love  reaches  its  perfection  when 
it  delivers  us  from  all  fear.  In  the  first  case,  the  per- 
fection is  in  the  heart  of  the  believer  leading  to  obedi- 
ence; love  has  reached  its  end  when  an  obedient  life  is 
developed.  Love  in  the  heart  always  produces  obedi- 
ence in  the  life.  In  the  second,  it  is  perfected  in  the 
body  of  Christians,  leading  to  good  fellowship  and 
brotherly  love;  it  is  God's  love  begetting  itself  in  us 
and  loving  its  own  love  in  our  hearts.  And,  finally,  it 
reaches  the  climax  in  securing  such  fellowship  between 
God  and  his  children  that  his  love  flows  out  in  unhin- 
dered freeness  to  them,  and  their  trust  reposes  in  un- 
broken confidence  in  him.  Thus  love,  which  always 
seeks  the  highest  good  of  those  who  are  loved,  attains 
its  end  and  its  perfection.  The  highest  good  which 
God  purposes  toward  man  is  secured  by  a  loving  obedi- 


AS    HE    IS,  SO    ARE    WE  199 

ence,  by  active  benevolence,  and  by  sweet  confidence 
— obeying,  repeating,  and  resting  on,  infinite  love.  Love 
flowing  from  the  heart  of  God  and  returning  from  the 
heart  of  man,  therefore,  finds  its  completeness,  its  per- 
fection, in  casting  out  fear  in  this  communion  between 
ourselves  and  the  Father. 

Thus  we  see  the  various  steps  of  "  the  love."  First 
it  came  to  us  in  this  world.  Then  it  followed  on  to  the 
sinful  state  in  which  we  were,  to  give  life  and  to  save. 
It  then  took  possession  of  us  and  acted  in  us,  loving  its 
own  love  in  our  hearts,  and  continuing  its  manifesta- 
tion to  the  world.  But,  finally,  having  come  to  our 
world  and  to  our  place  in  sin,  and  having  seated  itself 
upon  the  throne  of  our  hearts,  we  are  now  to  see  how  it 
places  us  upon  the  throne  of  Christ's  glory.  He  took 
our  place  in  sin.  Amazing  grace!  We  take  his  place 
in  holiness  and  in  love  and  in  glory.  This  is  love  and 
grace  surpassing  thought!  It  saw  all,  measured  all, 
took  in  the  need  of  all,  and  then  moved  forward  to  the 
end,  making  us  as  Christ  is,  without  any  question  of 
sin,  to  all  eternity  enthroned  before  the  face  of  God, 
fearless  and  confident. 

Therefore  there  is  no  wonder  that  all  fear  is  banished. 
In  2  :  28  we  saw  that  by  abiding  in  him  we  shall 
not  be  shamed  away  from  him  at  his  coming.  But 
here  we  have  something  higher.  There  is  7iow  no  fear 
of  the  day  of  judgment,  because  "  as  he  is,  so  are  luein 
this  ivorld. ' '  In  the  first  case  absence  of  shame  de- 
pends on  our  faithfulness.  In  this,  the  absence  of  fear 
is  dependent  on  his  love  producing  love  and  confidence. 


200  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE   OF   JOHN 

We  must  not  mistake  about  perfect  love  here.  Love 
to  be  perfect  must  be  both  in  the  lover  and  in  the  ob- 
ject loved.  Nothing  else  will  cast  out  fear.  If,  in  view 
of  the  judgment,  I  rely  upon  the  love  that  I  have  to  him, 
I  shall  be  haunted  with  the  thought  of  the  weakness  and 
wretchedness  of  my  love.  But  if  I  give  up  thinking  of 
my  love  and  lose  myself  in  the  divine  love, — the  very 
love  to  be  revealed  in  the  day  of  judgment,  the  love 
that  I  am  dwelling  in  and  that  is  dwelling  in  me,  the 
love  that  gives  me  a  home  in  its  bosom  and  the  love 
that  has  made  for  itself  a  home  in  mine, — then  I  can 
have  boldness. 

It  is  God's  love  that  is  so  shared  with  us  as  to  form- a 
love  relationship  between  his  children  and  himself.  It 
is  the  love  which  is  of  the  very  nature  of  God,  and  which 
came  out  to  us  in  the  saving  grace  of  his  Son,  that  is 
perfected  with  us  (iv  ijiMv — en  hemin).  God's  love  is 
shared  with  us  in  this  precious  fellowship.  But  love 
shared  between  the  lover  and  the  loved  in  a  mutual  fel- 
lowship of  love,  casts  out  fear,  for  fear  hath  punishment. 
The  existence  of  the  one  is  inconsistent  with  the  exist- 
ence of  the  other.  There  is  an  incompatibility  be- 
tween these  two  affections.  Thus  the  perfect  love  of 
God  obliterates  fear  in  us. 

The  basis  of  this  confidence  which  casts  out  fear,  is 
our  union  with  Christ  as  he  is  now.  Not  as  he  was  be- 
fore he  came  into  the  world,  nor  as  he  was  while  in  the 
world,  but  as  he  now  is  on  the  throne.  We  are  in  this 
world  not  as  he  was  then,  but  as  he  is  now.  Surely  such 
love,  so  displayed,  is  perfect. 


AS    HE    IS,  SO    ARE    WE  201 

This  is  important.  Personally  Jesus  was  always  dear 
to  the  Father,  but  as  the  one  sent  to  save  the  world, 
there  was  a  cloud  charged  with  wrath  that  came  be- 
tween him  and  his  Father's  love.  Divine  justice  inex- 
orably demanded,  in  the  interests  of  holiness  and  gov- 
ernment, the  stern  execution  of  the  sentence  of  death. 
This  cloud  followed  him  to  the  cross  and  there  enveloped 
him  in  unutterable  darkness.  Justice  had  to  be  per- 
fected before  love  could  be  perfected.  Jesus  shrank 
from  that  day  and  was  crucified  in  weakness. 

But  it  is  not  so  now.  "  Death  hath  no  more  domin- 
ion over  him."  He  has  borne,  in  our  room  and  stead, 
the  pains  and  penalties  which  our  sins  entail  upon  us. 
The  wages  of  sin  are  to  be  paid  by  him  no  more.  And 
we,  by  consenting  to  be  as  he  was  tJien,  become  as  he  is 
now,  glorified  with  him.  We  confess  that  the  death 
which  he  took  ive  deserved,  and  that  the  glory  to  which 
he  was  raised  he  earned,  but  earned  for  us.  And  thus 
we  may  have  the  same  boldness  that  he  has  in  facing  the 
day  of  judgment.  There  is  no  more  reckoning  with  him 
for  our  sin.  He  looks  forward  no  more  to  the  hour  of 
the  cross  nor  to  the  question  of  sin,  for  he  hath  put  it 
away  forever.  What  he  faces  now  is  the  day  of  con- 
quering and  crowning.  The  perfect  love  of  the  Father 
will  bring  this  in  its  own  season.  What  we  too  have  to 
face  is  the  victory  and  the  crown  which  love — perfect 
love,  love  flowing  with  unhindered  freeness  through  a 
holy  channel — will  bring  to  us  in  the  same  glory.  But 
the  question  of  sin  and  judgment  and  death  is  past  with 
us  as  they  are  past  with  him. 


202  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

''The  love  wherewith  he  loves  his  Son, 
Such  is  his  love  to  me." 

"  Se  that  feareth  is  not  made  perfect  in  love/'  He 
has  not  laid  open  his  heart  to  the  free,  frank  acceptance 
of  divine  love,  as  the  plant  opens  its  bosom  to  the  sun- 
shine and  rain.  AVhen  that  love  is  thus  received,  then 
there  will  spring  up  in  us  such  love  as  will  make  our 
whole  intercourse  with  God  confident,  loving,  and  rest- 
ful— a  love  which  believes  that  God  wants  us  to  be  con- 
fiding children  and  not  trembling  slaves. 

True  love  has  no  element  of  fear  in  it.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  is  the  spirit  of  self-surrender  combined  with 
desire  for  the  highest  good  of  those  who  are  loved.  It 
therefore  cannot  have  fear.  The  perfect  love  of  God, 
if  known  and  believed,  must  cast  out  fear.  So  long  as 
there  is  the  slightest  fear  felt,  love  has  not  yet  reached 
perfection  in  us.  The  Christian  is  the  sphere  where 
love  attains  perfection,  and  love  is  the  sphere  where 
the  Christian  attains  perfection.  Love  may  be  per- 
fected in  us  and  we  in  it. 

In  verse  nineteen  we  have  the  first  time  that  John 
has  ventured  to  mention  our  love.  Until  now  he  has 
been  absorbed  with  the  greater,  nobler,  and  more  divine 
love.  Up  to  this  point  all  had  turned  on  God's  love, 
manifested  by  him,  known  and  believed  by  us,  commu- 
nicated to  us,  present  with  us,  and  made  perfect  in  our 
obedience,  benevolence,  and  confidence.  Now  he  ven- 
tures to  speak  of  our  echo  to  God's  anthem,  our  reflec- 
tion of  God's  light,  and   our  response  to  God's  love. 


AS    HE    IS,  SO    ARE    WE  203 

**  We  love,  "  not  him/  but  we  come  to  love,  *'  because 
he  first  loved  us.''  He  loved  us  not  only  before  we 
loved  him,  but  when  we  were  still  hateful  and  hating. 
His  love  came  to  us  and  begat  love  to  himself,  love 
to  his  children,  love  to  all  mankind,  even  to  our  ene- 
mies, if  there  are  any.  It  is  important  to  see  that 
John  does  not  say  we  ought  to  love  him.  Love  is  never 
once  demanded  of  us  toward  him  in  the  New  Testament. 
Love  is  given  to  us  and  the  fruit  of  this  divine  love 
toward  us  is  that  we  love.  It  is  the  first  breathing  into 
our  souls  of  heaven's  sweetest  affection.  God  first 
breathed  into  Adam  and  then  Adam  breathed  out  into 
the  air.  He  first  pours  his  love  into  us  and  then  we 
pour  out  his  love  to  others,  which  has  now  become  our 
own. 

Real  love  to  God  will  always  show  itself  in  love  to 
the  brethren.  If  we  do  not  love  the  seen  brother,  we 
cannot  love  the  unseen  God.  If  any  say  that  they  love 
God  and  hate  their  brother,  they  are  liars.  They  are 
not  simply  telling  an  untruth,  but  they  are  themselves 
altogether  false.  God  will  accept  no  love  to  himself 
apart  from  love  to  his  children.  He  is  afflicted  in  their 
afflictions.  He  will  not  share  honor  when  they  are  left 
in  shame.  When  Israel  dwelt  in  tents,  he  abode  in  the 
tabernacle.  Not  till  they  had  their  ceiled  houses  did 
he  accept  a  temple. 

It  is  impossible  to  love  God  and  not  love  the  brother, 
for  the  following  reasons  : 

1.   Our  brethren  are  begotten   again,    recreated  in 

1  The  Revised  Version  is  correct  in  leaving  out  "  him." 


204  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

the  image  of  God.  It  is  absurd,  therefore,  to  profess 
love  to  God  and  yet  cherish  hate  toward  the  brother. 
If  we  have  an  aversion  for  the  hwnan  likeness  of  God, 
we  must  have  an  aversion  for  the  divine  prototype.  A 
picture  of  a  person  dear  to  our  hearts  can  never  be 
looked  upon  with  hatred,  and  the  closer  the  likeness  to 
the  original  the  greater  the  fondness  for  the  picture. 

2.  It  is  a  command  that  ''  he  who  loveth  God, 
love  his  brother  also."  If  we  love  him  we  shall  keep 
his  commandments,  and  this  is  one  of  them.  To  divide 
the  love  of  God  from  love  of  the  brethren  is  to  divide  it 
also  from  obedience  to  God.  **  And  this  commandment 
have  we  from  him,  That  he  who  loveth  God  love  his  brother 
also.'' 

3.  If  we  love  God,  it  is  because  he  dwells  in  us.  Love 
is  not  natural  to  us.  He  has  put  his  OAvn  love  in  us 
and  accordingly  we  must  love  as  he  loves.  He  loves 
the  believer,  who  is  our  brother.  If  w^e  love  with  the 
same  sort  of  love  as  God,  then  we  too  must  love  our 
brother. 

Our  love  must  be  no  idle  sentiment,  without  sympathy 
or  sacrifice,  but  a  love  that  seeks,  waits,  prays,  and  saves 
— a  love  that  gives,  that  lays  down  life  itself.  And 
this  love  must  still  go  out  in  spite  of  what  w^e  see  in 
others  as  well  as  because  of  what  w^e  see  in  them.  We 
must  love  our  brother  first  before  he  loves  us,  yea,  even 
if  he  shall  hate  us. 

The  love  of  the  brother  is  not  a  natural  attainment, 
but  a  divine  gift,  and  it  is  therefore  a  test  of  our  relation 
to  God.     If  we  belong  to  God  we  love  with  the  love 


AS   HE    IS,  SO    ARE    WE  205 

that  is  of  God.  This  love  will  go  forth  to  persons  and 
things,  not  as  they  are  attractive  to  us,  but  as  they  are 
attractive  to  him.  The  brother  is  so  attractive  to  God 
that  he  gave  his  Son  to  die  for  him.  That  same  love 
in  us  will  lead  to  the  same  devotion  and  sacrifice  by  us. 
The  law  could  not  produce  love  in  us  by  all  its  threat- 
enings  and  thunder.  But  God  has  put  to  death  the  old 
life  of  hatred  in  Christ  and  has  imparted  a  new  life,  and 
every  fibre  of  its  being  inspires  us  to  love. 


CHAPTER  XV 

BEGOTTEN  OF  GOD  AND  OVERCOMING  THE  WORLD 

It  is  the  habit  of  John  to  turn  from 
1  John  5 :  1-5       ,  i  i       •  -,     ^  , 

the  outward  to  the  mward,  from  the 

formal  to  the  vital.     He  keeps  near  to  the  center  of 

things.     This  makes  it  hard  to  see  the  bearing  of  each 

paragraph  on  that  by  which  it  is  preceded.     We  must 

look  below  the  surface. 

The  connecting  link  between  this  and  the  preceding 
section  is  the  thought  of  brotherhood.  But  the  Chris- 
tian brotherhood  is  based  upon  a  community  of  divine 
life,  and  the  obligation  to  love  is  laid  in  the  very  nature 
of  this  new  relation  rather  than  in  the  expression  of  a 
written  commandment.  The  injunction  that  he  who 
loves  God  should  love  his  brother  also,  has  its  origin  not 
only  in  the  will  of  God,  but  also  in  the  fact  of  our  shar- 
ing the  new  and  divine  life  with  every  brother  in  the 
faith. 

The  condition  of  this  union  with  the  Father  and  of  a 
common  possession  of  the  new  life  is  faith  in  Christ. 
This  faith  is  also  a  sign  of  the  life.  '^  Whosoever  be- 
lieveth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  begotten  of  God.  " 
Believing  is  used  here  in  its  full  and  definite  sense.  In 
the  third  chapter  it  expresses  belief  in  the  revelation 
made  concerning  Christ,  and  in  chapter  four  belief  in 
206 


OVERCOMING    THE    WORLD  207 

the  love  that  was  manifested  through  him.  But  here 
it  expresses  the  personal  relation  of  a  believing  soul  to 
the  Anointed  of  God.  In  addition  to  this  truth  about 
Christ  and  the  love  manifested  in  him,  it  is  a  reliance  upon 
him,  bringing  the  believer  into  vital  contact  with  him. 
The  one  who  believes  that  Jesus  is  the  Anointed  of  God 
for  the  purposes  of  salvation,  not  only  admits  an  intellect- 
ual truth,  but  receives  all  that  is  involved  in  that  truth. 
The  apostle  has  previously  considered  the  confession  of 
Christ  in  relation  to  society,  but  he  has  here  in  mind 
solely  the  faith  of  a  soul  in  the  person  of  Christ  without 
any  regard  to  another.  It  is  man  meeting  God  in 
Christ  and  with  heart  and  mouth  echoing  God's  testi- 
mony about  himself  and  his  Saviour.  It  is  the  very 
essence  of  what  is  needed  to  make  a  child  of  God.  It 
is  more  than  assent  to  a  proposition  or  a  truth.  It 
is  even  more  than  the  expression  of  a  truth.  It  is 
the  naked  contact  of  a  soul  with  God  through  his 
Saviour.  Martha  did  not  understand  a  word  the  Mas- 
ter said  to  her  in  the  midst  of  her  sorrow.  When  she 
was  asked  if  she  believed  what  was  said,  she  answered  : 
''  Yea,  Lord,  I  have  believed  that  thou  art  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God."  She  went  behind  what  was  said, 
to  himself ;  his  words  were  beyond  her  understanding, 
but  she  believed  in  him,  and  that  -was  salvation  and 
rest.  She  had  faith  in  the  right  person,  and  that  is  the 
right  kind  of  faith.  Every  one  who  thus  believes  is 
begotten  of  God. 

This  belief  implies  that  the  new  life  is  already  rooted 
within.     It  is  the  sign  of  the  new  life  as  well  as  the 


208  THE   FIRST   EPISTLE   OF   JOHN 

means  of  obtaining  it.  And  here  we  come  to  the 
foundation  of  all  that  John  has  written  in  this  book. 
Life  is  the  theme  in  this  book,  fellowship  is  its  keynote, 
holiness  is  its  fruit,  truth  is  its  law,  love  is*  its  essence, 
and  faith  is  its  root. 

Now,  then,  every  one  who  is  thus  begotten  of  God 
will  love  his  Father  who  begat  him,  and  the  love  of  the 
Father  implies  the  love  of  the  children  begotten  by 
him.  A  child  will  naturally  have  love  for  a  father. 
It  will  naturally  return  to  the  one  from  whom  life  has 
been  received.  As  the  same  life  is  communicated  to 
the  whole  family  of  faith,  love  must  also  flow  toward 
those  children  who  possess,  at  least  in  germ,  the  same 
possibilities  of  character  because  of  their  spiritual  birth. 

Previously  love  toward  the  brotherhood  was  com- 
manded, but  now  it  is  named  as  an  essential  fact.  If 
we  love  God,  we  must  love  his  people;  if  we  love  the 
brethren,  we  must  love  the  Father  by  whom  they  were 
begotten.  If  we  love  the  Father,  love  for  the  children 
will  not  be  wanting  ;  if  we  love  the  children,  there  will 
be  no  lack  of  love  for  the  Father.  Thus,  both  sides  of 
the  great  truth  are  stated.  It  will  be  seen  from  this 
that  the  love  of  God  and  the  love  of  the  children  of 
God  do  in  fact  include  each  other.  AYe  perceive  that 
we  know  God  if  w^e  keep  his  commandments  and  his 
commandment  is  that  we  love  one  another.  If  we  are 
begotten  of  God,  we  cannot  help  loving  our  Father 
and  also  all  the  children  who  are  recreated  in  his  like- 
ness. John  has  reached  the  spring  of  life  at  this  point 
and  he  can  go  no  deeper. 


OVERCOMING   THE    WORLD  209 

But  how  can  we  know  that  we  love  the  children  of 
God  ?  Only  when  we  love  God  and  observe  his  com- 
mandments. Love  to  the  brother,  as  we  have  seen, 
proves  the  reality  of  love  to  God;  and  here  we  learn 
that  love  to  God  is  the  test  of  love  to  the  brethren. 
The  reality  of  the  love  to  the  brother  is  shown  by  love 
and  obedience  to  the  commands  of  a  common  Father, 
and  obedience  is  possible  because  of  the  new  life  pos- 
sessed. Now  if  the  fact  that  a  person  is  born  of  God 
is  the  incentive  to  love,  then  it  follows  that  we  should 
love  all  who  are  begotten  again.  Our  love  will  be  ex- 
ercised toward  brethren,  not  merely  because  we  find  in 
them  pleasant  society  and  congenial  companions,  but  be- 
cause they  are  our  brethren.  Our  love  to  the  brother- 
hood was  previously  stated  to  be  the  sign  and  condition 
of  love  toward  God.  Here  our  love  to  God,  manifested 
in  keeping  his  commandments,  is  itself  the  sign  and 
measure  of  love  to  the  children  of  God.  It  is  '^chil- 
dren ' '  here,  those  in  whom  the  divine  life  may  have  the 
least  possible  development,  but  in  whom  the  life  truly 
exists.  So  we  may  say,  we  love  the  brethren  whom  we 
see,  and  therefore  we  love  God  whom  we  have  not  seen. 
Or  conversely  we  may  say,  we  love  God  and  keep  his 
commandments  and  therefore  we  love  the  brethren. 
The  existence  of  the  one  form  of  love  is  good  ground 
for  assuming  the  existence  of  the  other.  And  because 
of  this  inward  experience  of  love  and  outward  obedi- 
ence to  commandments  we  come  to  know  that  we  love 
God  and  love  his  children  also. 

It  follows  that  in  order  to  be  assured  of  the  reality 


210  THE    FIEST   EPISTLE    OF   JOHN 

of  our  love  we  must  walk  in  the  path  of  obedience,  both 
in  relation  to  God  and  to  the  brethren.  It  would  be  a 
proof  of  ivant  of  love  to  God  should  we  love  and  fel- 
lowship his  children  when  walking  along  the  path  of 
disobedience.  We  can  only  love  the  children  of  God 
truly  and  wisely  when  we  love  and  obey  him  of  Avhom 
they  are  born.  Unless  God  has  the  true  place  of 
supremacy  in  our  hearts,  what  appears  to  be  brotherly 
love  may  be  a  sentimental  impulse  that  shuts  out  God 
from  the  whole  sphere  of  our  spiritual  life.  It  comes 
to  this  then  :  True  brotherly  love  will  be  extended 
toward  all  the  children  of  God  because  they  are  chil- 
dren ;  but  it  will  not  always  consent  to  their  teaching  nor 
fellowship  their  walk.  A  love  without  absolute  sub- 
mission to  God  may  be  a  carnal  preference  or  a  sec- 
tarian prejudice.  The  test  of  love  is  doing  his  com- 
mandments. We  know  we  love  the  brethren  when  God 
is  the  object  of  our  affection  and  his  commandments  are 
the  guide  of  our  conduct.  True  love  can  never  go 
outside  of  these  commandments  in  a  service  to  the 
brethren.  No  matter  how  plausible  the  excuse,  any 
apparent  service  that  requires  disobedience  to  God  is  by 
that  very  fact  barred  from  the  sphere  of  love. 

The  explanation  of  this  test  is  that  the  love  of  God 
consists  in  this  one  thing,  that  we  have  in  our  hearts 
a  continuous  and  watchful  endeavor  to  keep  his  com- 
mandments. Every  utterance  of  God  will  be  carefully 
regarded,  and  this  regard  will  lead  to  the  doing  of  his 
commandments  in  outward  life.  In  every  case  where 
there  are  love  and  obedience  to  God,  we  shall  come  to 


OVERCOMING    THE    WORLD  211 

know  that  we  love  the  brethren  in  spite  of  misunder- 
standings, separations,  and  estrangements. 

Thus  far  we  have  seen  that  the  love  which  was  mani- 
fested toward  us  is  also  that  which  glows  in  our  own 
hearts  toward  others.  This  love  was  not  a  vague  dream 
or  mystic  sentiment  in  God,  and  it  will  not  be  such  in 
us.  It  became  a  real  act  of  self-sacrifice  and  conde- 
scending benevolence  in  him,  and  it  commands  and 
secures  the  same  in  us.  If  he  gave  his  life,  so  should 
we  lay  down  our  life  for  the  brethren.  In  this  we  begin 
by  loving  our  brother  whom  we  have  seen  as  God  loves 
him  and  us.  This  is  the  proof  of  love  to  God  whom 
we  have  not  seen.  After  this  our  love  turns  toward 
God  and  immediately  there  comes  from  him  the  com- 
mand that  we  love  the  brother  also.  Last  of  all  w^e 
come  to  the  heart  of  this  atmosphere  of  love  between 
Father  and  children,  between  brother  and  brother.  It 
is  this  :  Originally  man  was  in  God's  image.  Its  mani- 
festation was  lost  in  Adam,  but  it  was  recovered  in 
Christ,  revealing  God  as  he  is  and  man  as  he  ought 
to  be.  This  image  is  also  restored  m  the  children 
begotten  of  God  through  the  only  begotten  Son.  By 
regeneration  they  are  created  after  the  image  of  God 
in  righteousness  and  holiness  of  the  truth.  The  image 
was  perfect  in  him,  but  embryonic  in  us.  Loving  the 
character  of  God,  of  whom  we  are  begotten,  we  cannot 
help  loving  the  same  character  seen  in  those  who  have 
been  begotten  of  him.  Thus  the  inward  instinct  of  the 
new  life  corresponds  to  the  outward  command,  for  loving 
God  in  the  heart  is  keeping  his  commandments  in  the  life. 


212  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

And  these  commandments  are  not  grievous,  although 
there  are  great  obstacles  in  the  way  of  keeping  them. 
The  world  is  walking  according  to  the  great  enemy  of 
every  principle  of  the  government  of  God.  If  we  be- 
come occupied  completely  w'ith  the  commands  of  God, 
the  world's  hatred  will  soon  appear  on  the  scene. 
Moreover,  the  world  has  its  comforts,  its  delights,  and 
most  of  all,  its  opinions,  w^hich  we  shrink  from  oppos- 
ing. The  less  we  are  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
and  the  powder  of  the  new  life,  the  more  these  things 
will  have  weight  with  us.  The  way  of  the  world  and 
the  commandments  of  God  are  in  opposition  to  each 
other.  Only  when  we  are  living  in  the  ^ower  of  the 
new  life  derived  from  God  shall  we  be  able  to  surmount 
the  difficulties  which  the  world  opposes  to  our  walk  and 
overcome  the  tendencies  of  the  flesh  which  restrain  our 
love.  The  Christian's  new  nature  is  insensible  to  the 
attractions  of  the  world,  because  it  is  of  God.  He  has 
a  divine  nature  and  walks  by  the  principle  of  faith, 
which  is  the  very  opposite  of  the  way  of  the  flesh.  But, 
alas,  he  also  has  the  flesh  within  him.  Only  God  can 
keep  the  believer  dead  to  its  demands.  Westcott  says  : 
"Natural  taste,  feeling,  and  judgment  may  check 
spiritual  sympathy,  but  every  faculty  and  power  which 
is  quickened  by  God  is  essentially  stronger  than  the 
world  and  realizes  its  victory  at  once." 

If  our  new  relation  to  God  has  full  sway  in  our 
hearts,  it  will  divest  us  of  all  feeling  of  irksomeness  in 
the  path  of  obedience.  This  is  not  the  case  naturally, 
for  the  moment  the  commandment  impinges  upon  our 


OVERCOMING   THE    WORLD  213 

conscience  there  is  rebellion  in  the  heart.  But  God  in 
his  grace  has  revealed  Christ,  and  receiving  him,  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  renewed  our  whole  nature,  or  rather  has 
imparted  a  new  nature.  This  nature  cannot  help  lov- 
ing the  commandments  of  God,  for  it  is  derived  from 
God,  and  cannot  be  opposed  to  any  commandment  given 
by  its  Author.  His  commands  are  now  easy,  not  be- 
cause they  lower  the  standard  of  righteousness,  but  be- 
cause love  becomes  the  motive.  It  is  always  a  delight 
to  do  what  the  one  who  is  beloved  desires.  It  is  then 
that  we  find  ' '  I  will ' '  covering  exactly  the  same 
ground  as  "  I  ought."  Moreover,  he  gives  power  to 
obey  his  commandments.  "  Greater  is  he  that  is  in  you 
than  he  that  is  in  the  world." 

How  wonderful,  to  find  that  the  commandments  which 
were  once  distasteful  become  at  last  our  joyful  pursuit  ! 
There  may  be  in  us,  as  there  were  in  our  Lord,  groans 
and  cries  and  tears  in  doing  and  suffering  the  will  of 
God  here  and  now.  But  the  new  life  of  love  implanted 
in  the  heart  will  be  joyfully  obedient,  no  matter  what 
form  the  will  of  God  may  fake.  Our  ''obedience  of 
faith  ' '  enrolls  us  among  the  honorable  number  who  are 
"begotten  of  God  and  have  overcome  the  world." 

*'  This  is  the  victory  that  hath  overcome  the  world,  even 
our  faith/'  Faith  may  mean  either  the  thing  believed 
or  the  act  of  believing — that  which  is  objective,  as  em- 
bodied in  confession,  or  that  which  is  subjective,  as 
indicating  trust  in  the  heart  of  the  believer.  In  this 
place  ' '  our  faith  ' '  seems  to  mean  all  that  is  summed 
up  in  the  person  and  work  of  him  whom  we  confess  as 


214  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

*'the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God."  He  overcame  the 
world/  and  to  become  linked  to  him  by  faith  is  to  share 
his  life  and  to  obtain  a  part  in  his  victory.  It  is  not 
merely  that  we  have  a  victorious  faith,  but  we  are  iden- 
tified with  a  victorious  person  who  overcame  the  world. 
Hence  the  form  of  the  statement,  ' '  this  is  the  victory 
that  hath  overcome  the  world,  even  our  faith."  The 
victory  of  Christ  had  a  narrow  field,  but  it  covered 
every  point  of  our  experience  and  our  need  and  it  is 
world-wide  in  its  effects.  By  faith  in  him  we  enter  into 
its  triumphs  and  share  its  benefits.  Accordingly,  this 
faith  is  both  the  thing  believed  and  the  act  of  believing, 
and  it  gives  us  a  present  share  in  a  past  triumph.  Our 
faith  puts  us  in  the  place  of  him  who  conquered  all 
things  for  us.^ 

But  this  is  a  new  element  in  the  Christian's  fellow- 
ship with  God.  In  the  first  part  of  this  book,  our  fel- 
lowship was  in  Life,  then  in  Light,  and  then  we  had 
fellowship  in  Love.  Now  we  are  brought  into  fellow- 
ship with  the  Son  of  God  in  his  relationship  to  this 
world.  Being  begotten  of  God,  because  of  our  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus,  we  overcome  the  world,  standing  in  the 

iJohn  16:33. 

2  Dr.  Maclaren  says :  "  If  you  do  not  take  Christ  for  your  teacher,  you 
are  handed  over,  either  to  the  uncertainty  of  your  own  doubt  or  to  pin- 
ning your  faith  to  some  man  and  enrolling  yourself  as  a  disciple  who  is 
prepared  to  swallow  down  whole  whatever  the  rabbi  may  say,  giving  to 
him  what  'you  will  not  give  to  Jesus ;  or  else  you  will  sink  back  into 
utter  indolence  and  carelessness  about  the  whole  matter ;  or  else  you 
will  go  and  put  your  belief  and  your  soul  into  the  hands  of  a  priest ;  or 
shut  your  eyes  and  open  your  mouth  and  take  whatever  tradition  may 
choose  to  send  you.  The  one  refuge  from  all  these  is  to  go  to  him,  and 
learn  of  him,  and  take  his  yoke  upon  your  shoulders." 


OVERCOMING    THE    WORLD  215 

same  relation  to  the  world  in  which  our  Lord  stands. 
It  is  fellowship  with  him,  not  only  in  what  he  is,  but 
also  in  what  he  has  achieved  for  us. 

The  world  which  we  overcome  seems  to  be  that  which 
makes  the  commandments  of  God  grievous  or  irksome. 
If  so,  any  system,  or  way  of  life,  or  society,  or  com- 
panionship of  man,  that  makes  us  feel  God's  command- 
ments a  burden,  is  the  world  to  us.  That  way  of  occu- 
pying the  mind,  amusing  the  fancy,  gratifying  the 
taste,  stimulating  the  passions,  kindling  the  imagina- 
tion, or  interesting  the  heart,  which  lessens  one's  in- 
terest in  spiritual  things  and  makes  one's  duty  to  God 
grow  irksome,  tiresome,  distasteful,  that  is  the  world 
which  our  faith  must  overcome.  Whenever  we  are 
inclined  to  be  slow  to  respond  to  duty,  or  reluctant  to 
make  sacrifices  for  the  good  of  others,  or  unwilling  to 
go  forth  on  errands  of  mercy,  that  which  makes  us  so 
is  the  world  to  us,  and  it  should  be  abandoned  by  faith. 
For  faith  is  not  something  done  and  done  with.  It 
continues  to  the  end. 

"Who  is  he  that  overcometh  the  world  hut  he  that 
believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  So7i  of  Godf  Is  there 
any  other,  among  the  race  of  men,  who  is  victorious  ? 
Jesus  claimed  to  be  the  Son  of  God.  Signs  from 
heaven  and  works  on  earth  attested  that  claim.  But 
the  world  was  blind  to  the  signs  and  misinterpreted  the 
works.  It  disputed  the  claim,  accused  the  only  de- 
vout man  on  earth  of  blasphemy,  and  branded  the  only 
perfect  man  that  ever  lived  as  a  malefactor.  He  was 
delivered  over  to  the  Roman  government  for  condemna- 


216  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

tion  and  crucifixion.  The  judgment  and  the  execution 
of  that  day  have  never  been  reversed.  To  believe  in 
Jesus  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God  is  therefore  the  beginning 
of  victory  over  the  world.  But  further  still ;  this  faith  in 
the  Son  of  God  is  the  condition  of  receiving  the  new  life. 
This  life  is  the  source  of  that  love  which  was  seen  in 
him,  and  which  in  our  measure  re^^eats  itself  in  us.  It 
is  that  love  which  manifested  itself  in  active  benefi- 
cence, illustrated  in  the  life  of  the  Lord,  and  it  is  the 
exact  opposite  of  the  selfishness  and  hatred  of  the 
world. 

The  world  rejected  Christ.  It  gave  him  a  stable  for 
his  birth,  a  world  hating  his  ways  as  the  scene  of  his 
life,  and  a  cross  in  the  midst  of  a  jeering  mob  on  which 
to  die.  It  condemned  him  to  the  stake  among  thieves, 
robbers,  and  murderers.  It  cruelly  and  brutally  scourged , 
before  killing  him,  as  if  such  a  death  were  not  enough. 
It  then  nailed  him  to  the  cross,  to  be  hung  like  a  com- 
mon criminal.  Now,  when  we  put  our  faith  in  this 
world-condemned  Son  of  Mary,  we  have  overcome  its 
unbelief  and  its  hatred,  its  malignity,  its  injustice,  and 
the  absolute  blindness  of  its  mad  and  insane  depravity. 

This  is  the  victory,  even  our  faith.  No  man  has 
triumphed  over  the  world  until  he  has  become  united  to 
Christ  and  achieved  the  victory  at  this  crucial  point. 
He  is  the  free  man  who  has  been  made  free  by  this 
truth  received  in  his  heart ;  all  others  are  the  slaves  of 
an  insane  and  savage  world.  All  who  are  born  of  God 
are  standing  in  and  upon  a  victory  obtained  by  the  One 
through  whom  they  derived  their  new  life. 


OVERCOMING    THE    WORLD  217 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  liiiuself  overcame  the  world 
by  faith.  He  ' '  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame, ' ' 
because  of  his  faith  in  the  ' '  joy  that  was  set  before  him. ' ' 
When  he  stood  before  Caiaphas,  helpless  and  friendless, 
he  declared,  * '  Nevertheless  "  (in  spite  of  his  abject  condi- 
tion 7iow),  "hereafter  shall  ye  see  the  Son  of  Man 
sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power."  His  faith  was 
vivid  and  intense  and  far-reaching.  He  was  blind  to 
what  he  saw  on  earth,  but  he  had  an  eye  open  to  the 
glories  of  heaven.  He  was  deaf  to  earthly  sounds,  but 
he  had  an  ear  quick  to  hear  every  word  that  came  from 
his  Father's  lips.  "  Who  is  blind,  but  my  servant?  or 
deaf,  as  my  messenger  that  I  send  ?  Who  is  blind  as 
he  that  is  at  peace  with  me,  and  blind  as  the  Lord's 
servant  ?  "  ^  On  this  account  the  world  had  no  hold  on 
him,  the  prince  of  this  world  had  nothing  in  him. 
There  was  no  place  of  disloyalty  or  weakness,  no  lurk- 
ing element  of  possible  impatience  under  the  yoke,  in 
him.  He  was  the  servant  of  God,  with  the  spirit  of 
the  Son,  and  therefore  was  joyfully  obedient. 

When  we  have  this  same  spirit  of  sonship,  we  too 
may  overcome  the  world  in  practical  walk  as  well  as  in 
intellectual  belief.  We  may  have  to  cut  off  a  right 
hand  or  pluck  out  a  right  eye  and  to  treat  the  flesh  and 
its  lust  as  if  they  were  dead.  We  may  have  to  ''go 
outside  the  camp,  bearing  the  reproach  "  of  Christ ;  we 
may  have  to  forego  harmless  pleasures ;  we  may  have  to 
part  from  those  whom  we  dearly  love  ;  we  may  have  to 
lay  down  our  life  for  the  brethren.     These  things  will 

1  Isa.  42  :  19. 


218  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

be  grievous  and  yet  joyful,  "  sorrowful  but  always  re- 
joicing." Like  Christ,  we  will  look  forward  to  the  end. 
Like  Moses  we  shall  endure,  "  as  seeing  him  who  is  in- 
visible," and  in  the  end,  we  will  assuredly  rise  to  the 
height  of  our  great  position,  and  share  the  victory  that 
overcomes  the  world. 

We  have  had  great  knowledge,  great  joy,  great  fel- 
lowship, great  intimacies,  and  great  rank  as  sons  of 
God  ;  but  here  is  a  great  victory  over  the  world,  insur- 
ing a  final  possession  of  the  glory  of  heaven. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE    THREE   WITNESSES 

In  the  previous  part  of  this  chapter 
the  apostle  has  told  how  our  faith  over- 
comes the  world,  which  for  a  few  days  was  disposed 
to  patrouize  Christ,  but  in  the  end  shook  him  from  its 
lap,  condemned  him  to  death,  and  put  him  upon  the 
cross.  We,  however,  take  that  same  Jesus,  who  was 
crucified  by  the  combined  hatred  of  Jew  and  Gentile, 
and  make  him  our  Lord  and  our  God.  We  acknowl- 
edge that  we  owe  everything  to  him  and  have  nothing 
apart  from  him.  Very  naturally,  then,  the  apostle 
asks  the  question  :  On  what  authority  do  we  commit 
our  interests  for  time  and  eternity  to  this  Christ  ?  What 
extraordinary  facts  lead  us  to  accept  him,  in  spite  of 
such  universal  condemnation  ?  He  proceeds  to  say  that 
Jesus  came  by  means  of  water  and  by  means  of  blood  ; 
and  also  that  he  has  three  witnesses  testifying  to  his 
character — the  Spirit,  the  water,  and  the  blood. 

There  has  been  very  much  dispute  as  to  what  is  meant 
by  Jesus'  coming  by  water  and  by  blood,  and  also  as  to 
how  the  Spirit,  the  water,  and  the  blood  bear  witness  to 


1  No  reference  is  made  to  the  seventh  verse.  There  is  no  dispute  among 
scholars— all  agree  that  it  does  not  belong  to  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and 
is  properly  omitted  by  the  Revised  version. 

219 


220  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

his  character.  Coucerning  this  we  may  say,  first,  that 
these  words  point  to  some  purely  historic  facts  apparent 
in  the  life  of  our  Lord  on  earth.  Secondly,  it  is  as- 
sumed that  these  facts  are  so  real  and  patent  that  they 
become  the  introduction  and  terminus  of  God's  testi- 
mony to  those  who  put  their  trust  in  him. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  and  admitted  that  the  two 
great  facts  which  correspond  to  these  conclusions  are 
the  baptism  and  the  death  of  our  Lord.  The  exact 
expression  here  is  both  by  and  in,  water  and  blood. 
The  one  implies  the  means  through  which,  and  the  other 
the  element  in  which,  he  came.  In  the  Old  Testament 
water  and  hlood  were  everywhere  connected  with  the 
service  of  the  sanctuary.  Hence  John  says,  "_ffe  .  .  . 
came  by  water  and  blood,''  as  if  to  impress  his  readers 
with  the  fact  that  the  Son  of  God  was  fulfilling  every- 
thing that  these  types  had  caused  them  to  expect.  He 
was  manifested  by  means  of  water  and  by  means  of  blood. 
He  came,  and  fulfilled  in  symbol,  all  the  promises  that 
were  made  to  the  fathers  concerning  the  Messiah  in  the 
act  of  baptism,  and  the  fulfillment  was  made  in  reality 
at  his  death.  "  He  that  came  "  is  equivalent  to  "  He 
that  hath  fulfilled  tlie  promises  to  the  fathers,  as  the 
Saviour  sent  from  God." 

Christ  existed  before  the  act  of  baptism,  and  he  ex- 
ists now,  since  he  died.  He  did  not  exist  manifestly, 
however,  before  his  baptism,  and  he  is  not  manifestly 
before  the  world  now.  This  Epistle  of  John  is  entirely 
about  the  manifestation  and  revelation  of  Christ.  He 
speaks  of  that  which  was  seen,  heard,  gazed  upon,  and 


THE    THKEE    WITNESSES  221 

handled.  He  treats,  therefore,  only  of  that  part  of 
our  Lord's  life  which  was  exposed  to  the  senses  of  the 
world. 

The  water  and  the  blood  point  to  two  distinct  his- 
torical events  in  the  earthly  life  of  our  Lord,  The 
one  is  the  point  a  quo  (from  which),  the  other  is  the 
point  ad  quern  (to  which).  Baptism  in  water  was  the 
starting-point  of  his  manifestation,  and  the  death  on  the 
cross  was  the  terminus  of  his  manifestation.  Hence,  he 
came  by  means  of  water  and  by  means  of  blood.  The 
Lord  Jesus  did  not  show  himself  to  the  world  as  the  Son 
of  God  before  his  baptism,  nor  did  the  world  get  a  view 
of  him  after  the  cross.  He  came  in  by  water  and  passed 
out  by  blood.  One  was  the  door  of  entrance,  the  other 
of  exit.  He  came  to  fulfill  all  righteousness  in  his  bap- 
tism, and  he  accomplished  that  righteousness  upon  the 
cross,  crying,  ''  It  is  finished." 

John  the  Baptist  came  baptizing  in  water  in  order 
that  Jesus  might  be  manifested  to  Israel.^  The  only 
contact  that  Jesus  had  with  John  was  at  his  baptism 
and  during  the  time  of  the  subsequent  testimony  given 
by  John,  a  few  days  afterward.  It  will  thus  be  seen, 
that  Jesus  entered  into  his  manifestation  on  the  earth, 
among  men,  at  the  time  of  his  baptism.  He  terminated 
that  manifestation  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  pouring 
out  his  blood  on  the  cross.  As  he  passed  out  from  the 
view  of  the  world  in  blood,  so  also  he  passed  in  before 
the  face  of  God  by  means  of  his  own  blood.  It  was  the 
blood  of  the  brazen  altar  and  the  blood  before  the 

1  John  1 :  31. 


222  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

mercy -seat  combined.  It  was  the  body  without  the 
camp  and  the  blood  within  the  veil.  The  one  was  seen 
by  man,  and  the  other  was  seen  by  God  alone. 

Therefore,  John,  who  was  simply  speaking  of  the  un- 
folding or  manifestation  of  Christ,  and  also  of  the  pur- 
poses for  which  he  came  among  us,  names  only  these 
two  points  :  the  one  where  he  began  and  the  other  where 
he  ended  the  work  of  his  manifestation.  He  came  to 
be  seen  that  he  might  reveal,  he  revealed  that  he  might 
accomplish,  he  accomplished  that  he  might  return  to 
his  Father's  face.  It  was  not  the  beginning  of  his  life 
nor  the  end  of  his  days,  of  which  John  was  speaking, 
but  the  beginning  and  ending  of  that  manifested  life, 
before  men,  revealing  the  unrevealed  and  the  unseen 
God.  Baptism  marked  the  point  when  he  began  to  be 
manifested  before  the  Avorld.  The  blood  of  the  cross 
marked  the  point  where  it  ended.  He  was  only  seen 
by  the  chosen  witnesses  after  his  accomplished  decease. 

The  last  sight  that  Pharaoh  had  of  Moses  was  when 
the  first-born  of  the  land  fell  under  the  stroke  of  justice. 
The  last  time  the  world  saw  our  Lord  was  when  the 
first-born  of  all  creation  hung  on  the  stake  of  cursing. 
This  was  according  to  the  type  given  to  Israel.  The 
high  priest  was  seen  at  the  brazen  altar  in  the  outer 
court  by  all  the  people.  When  he  entered  the  Holy  Place 
he  was  seen  oiihj  by  the  priests  associated  with  him.  But 
when  he  went  into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  no  eye  beheld 
him  but  the  eye  of  God.  So  Jesus  was  seen  by  the  peo- 
ple— by  the  world,  during  his  j^ublic  ministry  and,  for 
the  last  time,  on  the  cross.     After  his  resurrection  he 


THE    THREE    WITNESSES  223 

appeared  only  to  those  who  were  'priests  unto  God,  be- 
cause they  shared  with  him  the  life  he  had  laid  down 
and  had  taken  again.  He  was  in  the  Holy  Place,  where 
we  are  associated  with  him  now.  But  when  he  ascended 
into  heaven,  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  sight,  and  we 
see  him  no  more.  The  Holy  Spirit  has  come  out  and 
told  us  that  he  is  at  the  right  hand  of  God —  that  he  ap- 
pears before  the  face  of  God  for  us — and  that  his  work 
has  been  accepted  in  our  behalf. 

Before  the  cross  Jesus  show^ed  himself  equally  to  all, 
for  he  was  attracting  their  confidence  by  services  of  un- 
wearied love.  After  resurrection  he  is  known  only  to 
his  own.  The  world  had  refused  his  mercy,  and  had 
seen  and  hated  both  him  and  his  Father.  It  was  not 
entitled  to  see  him  now,  on  his  way  to  the  highest 
heavens.  Only  they  who  loved  him  in  the  world  should 
see  him  in  his  triumph.  Mary  and  Peter  and  John,  and 
five  hundred  unknown  and  unnamed  brethren,  should 
look  upon  him  in  full,  appropriating  faith.  And  his 
appearances  express  themselves  differently  according  to 
the  condition  and  need  of  the  disciple.  He  soothes  the 
sorrowful,  leads  back  to  righteousness  the  wandering, 
and  approves  those  walking  in  the  light,  but  he  makes 
no  appearance  or  appeal  to  the  world. 

It  is  a  very  striking  thing  that  our  Lord  pointed  to 
his  baptism  and  his  death  (always  associated,  of  course, 
with  his  resurrection)  as  his  two  principal  credentials. 
At  the  first  cleansing  of  the  temple,  wdien  asked  by 
what  authority  he  did  these  things,  he  replied  :  *'  De- 
stroy this  temple,  and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it  up 


224  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

again."  He  spoke  of  the  temple  of  his  body  and  of 
his  own  death  and  resurrection.  This  was  his  proof  of 
authority.  But  at  his  second  cleansing  of  the  temple, 
when  his  authority  was  demanded,  he  said  :  "  The  bap- 
tism of  John,  whence  was  it,  from  heaven  or  of  men  ?  " 
In  the  one  case  he  pointed  to  his  baptism,  and  in  the 
other,  to  death  and  resurrection.  Again,  on  three  dif- 
ferent occasions  he  referred  the  Jews  who  wanted  a  sign 
confirming  his  claim  to  be  the  Messiah,  to  Jonah.  "  As 
Jonah  was  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  belly  of 
the  whale,  so  shall  the  Son  of  man  be  three  days  and 
three  nights  in  the  heart  of  the  earth. ' '  Here  again  the 
sign  of  divine  approval  was  death  and  resurrection. 
These  were  his  credentials.  This  was  simple  and  nat- 
ural, for  baptism  was  the  outward  symbol  of  the  subse- 
quent death  and  resurrection.  Baptism  and  Jonah's 
deliverance  were  the  testimony  to  the  Jews,  while  the 
resurrection,  attested  by  chosen  witnesses,  was  the  tes- 
timony to  the  whole  world.  Baptism  was  the  shadow, 
death  and  resurrection  were  the  substance ;  baptism  was 
the  architect's  plan,  death  and  resurrection  were  the 
completed  building;  baptism  was  the  promise,  the  blood 
was  the  performance;  baptism  was  the  prophecy,  the 
blood  was  the  fulfillment.  By  his  baptism  he  drew  the 
outlines  of  his  great  work  of  redemption,  and  when  he 
came  forth  from  the  grave,  after  dying  on  the  cross,  it 
was  found  that  the  outline  had  been  completely  filled  in, 
without  a  flaw  or  failure.  He  came  *  *  not  in  ivater  only  ' ' 
— not  in  tyj^e  only,  as  all  the  Jewish  past  had  been — 
but  ''in  the  water  and  in  the  blood,'* ^  in  the  shadow  and 


THE   THREE    WITNESSES  225 

also  in  the  suhstance.  This  explains  why  our  Lord  says 
of  his  death,  ' '  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized  with, 
and  how  am  I  straitened  till  it  be  accomplished." 
His  first  baptisnj  was  a  prophecy  of  the  other  to  come. 

The  importance  of  this  view  w^ill  be  seen,  by  suppos- 
ing that  neither  his  baptism  nor  his  death  had  taken 
place  jmblicly.  If  he  had  begun  his  mission  in  secret 
and  ended  it  in  secret,  how  the  whole  work  of  our  Lord 
would  have  been  attenuated  and  obscured!  But  with 
this  public  beginning  and  this  public  ending  of  the 
whole  life  between  these  two  events,  we  plainly  see  how 
he  came  by  means  of  water  and  by  means  of  blood. 

Now%  to  this  Christ,  thus  coming,  there  are  three 
witnesses.  This  is  the  great  question  under  considera- 
tion here.  The  term  "  witness  "  occurs  nine  times  dur- 
ing the  short  space  of  five  successive  verses.  John  is 
speaking  about  the  witnesses  to  the  character  and  work 
of  the  Son  of  God.  This  is  very  different  from  mani- 
festation. The  manifestation  reveals  the  Father  whom 
he  represented,  but  the  witnesses  accredit  the  character 
of  the  Revealer. 

First,  the  Spirit's  witness.  He  is  called  the  Spirit  of 
Truth.  He  is  adapted  to  give  a  true  testimony  because 
he  is  true,  and  could  not  have  given  any  other,  owing 
to  his  own  essential  nature.  Just  as  Satan  speaketh  of 
his  own,  in  his  lies,  so  the  Holy  Spirit  speaketh  of  his 
own,  in  the  truth.  But  the  fact  that  the  Spirit  is  true 
is  not  that  upon  which  the  apostle  lays  emphasis.  He 
only  mentions  that  fact  in  order  to  impress  upon  us  the 
weight  we  should  attach  to  whatever  this  witness  says. 


226  THE    FIRST   EPISTLE    OF   JOHN 

He  could  neither  be  deceived  nor  could  he  deceive,  and 
what  he  says  should  be  taken  without  qualification  or 
reserve. 

The  Spirit  is  named  first  because  historically  his  wit- 
ness came  first.  The  whole  of  the  Old  Testament,  in 
history,  type,  and  prophecy,  was  inspired  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  bears  witness  to  the  Anointed  One  to  come. 
Hence,  in  the  New  Testament,  we  have  the  apostles  con- 
stantly appealing  to  these  writings  concerning  Christ,  as 
the  witness  of  the  Spirit.  ' '  The  Holy  Ghost  spake  by 
the  mouth  of  David  "  (Acts  1  :  16)  ;  the  Holy  Ghost 
spake  by  Isaiah  the  prophet  concerning  his  rejection  by 
the  Jews  ;  ^  and  in  the  book  of  Hebrews,  it  is  the  Holy 
Ghost  who  witnesses  to  the  headship  of  Christ,  and  to 
the  perfection  of  his  work,  in  securing  the  remission  of 
sins.^  The  Spirit  of  Prophecy  which  produced  these 
writings,  is  the  witness  of  Jesus.  The  Sjiirit  who 
breathed  out  these  Scriptures,  breathed  in  and  through 
the  Lord  himself.  The  living  Word  spake  and  acted, 
as  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

In  the  New  Testament,  it  is  recorded  that  Jesus  was 
begotten  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  By  this  act  he  Avas  freed 
from  the  taint  of  sin,  so  that  the  Spirit  could  witness 
in  and  through  him  with  divine  perfection.  He  was 
anointed  and  led  by  the  Spirit ;  he  did  his  works  by  the 
Spirit  ;  made  his  one  offering  by  the  eternal  Spirit  ;  was 
raised  from  the  dead  by  the  Spirit;  and,  before  he  as- 
cended, we  are  assured  that  "  he  had  given  command- 
ment through  the  Holy  Ghost  to  the  apostles  whom  he 

1  Acts  28  :  25.  2  Heb.  3:7;  9:8. 


THE    THREE    WITNESSES  227 

had  chosen."  His  whole  earthly  existence,  in  origin, 
in  manner  of  life,  in  teaching,  in  death,  and  in  resurrec- 
tion, was  the  outward  embodiment  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
But  the  Holy  Spirit  bore  testimony  to  Jesus  out- 
wardly, both  before  and  after  his  ascension,  in  a  way 
that  appealed  to  the  senses  of  men.  This  witness  came 
at  the  time  of  his  obedience  to  a  divine  ordinance  which 
revealed  the  character  of  his  work.  God  had  told  John 
the  Baptist,  ' '  upon  whomsoever  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit 
descending  and  abiding  upon  him,  the  same  is  he  " ;  and 
John  adds,  ' '  I  beheld  the  Spirit  descending  as  a  dove 
out  of  heaven  and  it  abode  upon  him.''  But  this  w^it- 
ness  came  aftei^  baptism, — after  Jesus  came  up  alive 
from  the  place  of  confessed  death, — after  death  had 
passed  and  life  had  come,  as  represented  in  the  beautiful 
symbol  of  baptism.  The  coming  of  the  Spirit  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost  bore  witness  to  the  value  of  the  death  of 
Christ  on  the  cross,  and  also  to  the  dignity  of  his  exalta- 
tion after  his  resurrection.  That  descent  of  the  Spirit 
was  God's  answer  to  man's  rejection,  malediction,  and 
crucifixion  of  his  Son.  "Being  therefore  exalted  by 
the  right  hand  of  God  ...  he  hath  poured  forth 
this  which  ye  see  and  hear."  After  this,  when  the 
Samaritans  received  the  word,  when  Saul  was  converted, 
when  the  Gentile  Cornelius  accepted  the  Jewish  Mes- 
siah, and  when  the  negligent  disciples  of  John  believed 
on  the  One  that  was  to  come,  the  same  outward  signs  of 
tongues  and  prophecy  appeared  and  appealed  to  the 
senses  of  men.  These  outward  signs  have  ceased,  but 
the  Spirit  still  hears  tvitness  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of 

Q 


228  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

God.  He  still  convicts  of  sin,  because  they  believe  not 
on  him;  of  righteousness,  because  he  has  gone  to  the 
Father  ;  and  of  judgment,  because  the  Prince  of  this 
world  is  judged.  If  the  believer  bears  witness  to  Jesus, 
so  also  does  the  Spirit.  ''And  w^e  are  witnesses  of 
these  things,  and  so  also  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  God 
hath  given  to  them  that  obey  him."  Obedience  to 
Christ  secured  the  Holy  Ghost  then,  and  the  same  is 
true  now.  He  is  received  now,  inwardly,  with  as  much 
power  as  then,  even  though  no  outward  signs  fol- 
low. The  gospel,  which  has  its  origin  in  the  person 
and  work  of  Christ,  is  still  preached  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven.  And  the  one  who  ac- 
cepts Christ  as  Lord  and  Master  to-day  will  have  this 
witness  from  heaven,  just  as  truly  as  did  the  first  be- 
lievers on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  The  Spirit  bears  wit- 
ness now. 

Secondly,  we  have  the  witness  of  the  imter.  This 
refers  to  our  Lord's  baptism.  In  this  act  of  Jesus  we 
see  the  opened  heavens  and  the  descending  dove,  and 
we  hear  the  witnessing  voice,  all  three  marking  the 
person  and  the  act  as  worthy  of  the  Son  of  God.  The 
Son  was  in  the  water,  the  Father  spake  from  heaven, 
and  the  Spirit  appeared  in  the  form  of  the  peaceful 
dove.  This  was  the  starting-point  of  the  ministry  of 
Jesus.  God  used  the  water,  the  baptism,  as  the  occa- 
sion for  the  first  testimony  to  Christ  after  the  signs 
attending  his  birth. 

The  baptism  of  John  was  a  testimony  to  the  ruined 
condition  of  Israel.     That  nation  had  sinned  and  for- 


THE    THREE    WITNESSES  229 

felted  life.  The  axe  lay  at  the  root  of  the  national  tree 
(*' was  steadied  against  the  tree")  ready  to  cut  it 
down.  John  called  on  the  nation  to  repent  and  to  con- 
fess this  ruin  and  deservedness  of  death.  When  the 
people  came  out  to  be  baptized,  that  was  the  confession 
they  made  as  they  owned  their  sins  and  submitted  to  be 
buried.  But  John  spoke  of  Another  through  whom 
there  was  hope.  All  who  were  baptized  promised  to 
believe  on  this  One  who  was  to  come.  In  John's  bap- 
tism he  did  come.  When  Jesus  came  to  be  baptized 
he  took  the  place  of  that  nation,  condemned  to  death, 
and  he  owned  the  justice  of  the  sentence  against  it.  He 
did  not  confess  his  own  sins,  but  the  sins  of  those  whom 
he  represented.  He  confessed  that  they  deserved  death 
and  in  symbol  he  took  that  death  upon  himself  ;  but  he 
also  confessed  that  there  was  hope  through  resurrection, 
and  that  hope  was  expressed  in  symbol  when  he  was 
raised  out  of  the  water.  Therefore,  taking  the  place 
of  the  sinful  nation  and  ruined  race,  he  submitted  to  be 
buried  as  one  who  deserved  death.  He  was  raised  out 
of  the  water  as  one  who  would  triumph  over  death  in 
resurrection. 

This  opens  the  whole  meaning  of  his  baptism.  He 
said,  *'  It  becometh  us."  It  became  him  and  it  be- 
comes those  for  whom  he  acted.  It  became  the  sec- 
ond Adam,  bringing  in  a  new  and  holy  race,  to  fulfill  all 
righteousness.  That  righteousness  was  reached  through 
death  and  resurrection — the  death  of  the  old  and  natu- 
ral life,  and  the  birth  of  the  new  and  spiritual  life.  He 
took  a  new  place   after  his  resurrection   from  the  dead. 


230  THE    FIEST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

He  was  crucified  in  weakness,  but  by  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead  he  was  marked  off  in  a  sphere  of  power, 
corresponding  to  his  infinite  holiness.^  This  realm  of 
power  is  where  he  is  now,  and  we  have  that  new  place 
in  him.  He  came  to  die  that  we  might  live.  We  die 
in  him,  that  we  may  live  forevermore. 

It  is  only  fair  to  own  that  this  aspect  of  the  truth  is 
more  in  keeping  with  the  truth  presented  by  Paul  than 
with  that  of  John.  Paul  speaks  of  the  way  in  which 
the  Christian  is  justified  and  accepted  ;  while  John 
shows  us  the  life  that  comes  from  God  through  Christ. 
Paul  sets  us  before  God,  accepted  in  Christ,  after  death 
and  resurrection.  John  sets  God  before  us,  in  Christ, 
imparting  eternal  life,  to  be  manifested  in  resurrection. 
Both  of  them  either  assume,  or  teach,  that  the  natural 
life  cannot  be  developed  so  that  it  will  ascend  into  the 
kingdom.  The  natural  life  must  be  set  aside,  and  a 
new  life  and  a  new  standing  must  be  brought  in.  The 
life  of  the  first  Adam  is  called  the  flesh,  and,  in  the 
principle  of  its  will,  it  is  sin.  It  could  not  be  subject  to 
God  nor  to  his  law.  Purification,  therefore,  could  only 
be  accomplished  through  the  death  of  the  old  man  and 
the  birth  of  the  new.     Our  burial  in  baptism  sets  forth 


1  Rom.  1:4:  "  Declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God."  The  word  bpicr6evTo<; — 
horisthentos,  transhited  "declared,"  means  to  mark  out  by  a  boundary 
or  limit.  Up  to  the  point  of  his  resurrection  Jesus  was  marked  by  that 
physically  weak  though  sinless  condition  which  once  pertained  to  him. 
But  from  that  moment,  as  by  a  circle,  he  was  surrounded  by  resurrection 
life  and  glory,  not  according  to  the  flesh,  but  according  to  the  Spirit. 
Strength  and  glory  characterize  him  now,  as  weakness  and  humiliation 
did  then  (2  Cor.  5 ;  13  :  4).  We  only  know  him  in  resurrection  now  and 
no  longer  according  to  the  flesh. 


THE    THREE    WITNESSES  231 

how  we  take  part  in  the  death  of  Christ  for  our  sinful 
nature  and  for  our  sins.  Having  been  judicially  cru- 
cified with  him,  we  are  reckoned  dead,  according  to  the 
law.  As  dead,  we  ought  to  be  ^'buried  with  him  by 
baptism  into  death,  wherein  also  we  are  risen  with  him." 
As  Noah  went  into  the  ark,  and  passed  through  the 
very  flood  that  destroyed  the  world,  so  we  enter  into 
Christ,  and  pass  through  the  judgment  of  God.  We 
were  in  him  at  death,  in  him  at  resurrection,  and  we 
are  in  him  now.  Baptism  is  the  witness  to  this.  Jesus, 
therefore,  in  submitting  to  baptism,  assumed  in  symbol 
his  whole  future  work.  He  had  a  baptism  to  be  bap- 
tized with,  in  order  to  complete  our  redemption,  and 
that  was  the  overwhelming  woe  which  came  upon  him, 
pouring  out  his  blood  unto  death.  Baptism  in  water 
was  the  outward  symbol  of  the  reality  that  was  to  take 
place  in  blood. 

The  third  witness  is  the  blood.  Evidently  he  means 
the  blood  poured  out  upon  the  cross.  Jesus  was  a  true 
man.  He  had  come  in  the  flesh.  The  life  of  the  flesh 
is  in  the  blood.  When  his  blood  was  poured  out,  there 
was  presented  to  the  senses  an  infallible  proof  that  this 
wondrous  man,  without  human  father,  controlling  all 
the  elements  of  nature,  to  whose  word  even  death  and 
the  grave  were  obedient,  and  whose  soul  was  not  holden 
of  hades  nor  his  body  of  the  grave— that  this  strong  Son 
of  God,  was  the  true  Son  of  Man.  This  is  the  truth  to 
which  John  repeatedly  bore  witness,  which  he  claims  is 
fundamental,  and  the  denial  of  which  will  characterize 
the  appalling  apostasy  of  the  Antichrist.     Jesus  came 


232  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE   OF    JOHN 

in  the  fashion  of  man,  bone  of  our  bone,  flesh  of  our 
flesh,  and  soul  of  our  soul.  So  says  the  blood  of  cruci- 
fixion. 

But  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  our  Lord,  there  were 
signs  and  witnesses  to  the  claims  of  Jesus,  as  Son  of 
Mary  and  Son  of  God.  The  sun  was  darkened  for  three 
successive  hours,  and  the  heavens  were  clothed  in  sack- 
cloth. Then  the  veil  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  the 
midst,  from  the  top  to  the  bottom,  which  was  witnessed 
by  a  multitude  of  priests.  Never  before  did  any  blood 
shed  on  earth  prevail  with  God  to  open,  by  his  oivn  hand, 
the  way  into  his  presence.  The  tombs  also  were  opened, 
and  after  his  resurrection  many  of  the  dead  were  raised 
and  showed  themselves  to  the  people  in  the  holy  city. 
To  all  of  this  there  was  a  still  greater  sign,  had  there 
only  been  perception  on  the  part  of  the  people.  The 
triumphant  death  of  Christ — not  killed  by  the  mob,  but 
of  his  own  sovereign  will  laying  down  his  life  that  he 
might  take  it  again — bore  witness  to  his  every  claim. 
Only  a  Gentile  centurion  and  the  soldiers  with  him 
seem  to  have  had  eyes  to  see,  and  they  exclaimed, 
* '  Truly  this  was  a  son  of  God. "  ^  He  cried,  "  It  is  fin- 
ished, and  with  a  loud  voice  delivered  up  the  spirit." 
It  was  a  note  of  triumjyh,  in  the  midst  of  apparent  fail- 
ure— a  shout  of  victory,  when  he  seemed  to  be  van- 
quished. 

Moreover,  the  blood  testified  to  the  absolute  neces- 
sity of  his  death,  as  the  Redeemer  of  the  race.     With- 

1  The  text  seems  to  favor  translating:  "Truly  this  was  the  son  of  a 
god." 


THE    THKEE    WITNESSES  233 

out  the  sheddiDg  of  blood  there  is  no  remission.  There 
is  no  way  back  to  God  except  through  a  full  recognition 
of  the  facts  in  the  case.  Man  has  sinned.  Sin  is  a  capi- 
tal offense  against  the  government  of  God.  '*  The  soul 
that  sinneth  it  shall  die."  Nothing  short  of  death  can 
pay  the  penalty  of  death.  So  there  is  no  way  back  to 
God  except  through  the  forfeiture  of  life — and  the  life 
is  in  the  blood.  It  must,  therefore,  be  shed  in  order  to 
remission. 

But  there  was  life  coming  to  us,  out  of  that  tragic 
death.  The  resurrection,  coming  after  the  crucifixion, 
was  the  witness  to  this.  Moreover,  there  was  an  inci- 
dent which  happened  on  the  cross,  to  which  John  at- 
tached great  importance.  Being  a  Jew,  he  had  learned 
to  interpret  the  language  of  symbols,  which  was  even 
more  meaningful  than  that  of  Avords.  "Blood  and 
water"  came  from  the  pierced  side  of  the  Saviour.^ 
It  Avas  not  "  Avater  and  blood,"  as  in  the  history 
of  our  Lord's  life,  having  his  entrance  by  baptism 
and  his  exit  by  the  cross.  John  bore  Avitness,  that  we 
might  also  have  faith,  for  "blood  and  Avater  "  Avere 
to  him  symbols  of  the  Avhole  Avork  of  our  Lord. 
Death  is  the  foundation  and  life  the  superstructure  ; 
death  the  seed  and  life  the  fruit.  Hence,  blood  came 
first,  cancelling  our  guilt,  and  Avater  afterward,  the 
promise  of  life,  floAving  from  his  heart.  By  the  blood- 
shedding  God  sees  no  sin  in  us  ;  and  in  the  AA^ater  he 
sets  forth  the  gift  of  life.  God  not  only  forgives  sins, 
but  he  also  begets  children,  through  the  crucified  Son. 

1  John  19  :  34. 


234  THE    FIKST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

Sin  is  put  away  aud  life  is  communicated — life  is  laid 
down  and  life  is  imparted.  He  took  our  sin,  and  the 
death  that  was  connected  with  it.  He  gives  his  own 
life  and  the  holiness  which  it  bears  as  the  fruit  of  the 
Sj^irit. 

We  see  here  one  of  many  illustrations  of  the  divine 
perfections  of  the  Word  of  God.  Jesus  came  by  water 
and  blood  to  men  ;  but  he  ivent  by  blood  and  water  to 
God.  The  order  in  which  the  command  was  given  for 
the  Tabernacle  directed  that  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
should  be  made  first  before  the  brazen  altar.  Jesus 
was  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father  before  he  came  to  the 
death  of  the  cross.  So  also  the  arrangement  of  the  ves- 
sels qf  the  Tabernacle  shows  the  same  order  as  symbols 
of  truth.  Coming  out  from  the  Most  Holy  Place,  the 
water  of  the  laver  must  be  passed  before  reaching  the 
blood  of  the  altar ;  but  in  returning,  the  blood  came 
first  and  afterward  the  water.  The  reality  of  what  is 
taught  in  these  types  was  fulfilled  when  Jesus  came  forth 
from  God  and  returned  to  God.  In  the  power  of  the 
Life  as  set  forth  by  the  water,  he  came  from  God,  the 
holy  One,  bearing  our  sins  in  his  own  body  up  to  the 
altar  of  the  cross.  Here  sins  were  put  away  in  his 
blood  and  then  he  returned  to  the  face  of  God  in  the 
victory  of  the  same  spotless  life  taken  again.  The  liv- 
ing One  came  from  God  to  die  ;  but  the  One  who  died 
returns  to  God,  alive  for  evermore.  "  We  were  recon- 
ciled to  God  through  the  death  of  his  Son,  much  more, 
shall  w^e  be  saved  in  his  life." 

Now  these  three  witnesses^the  Spirit,  the  water,  and 


THE    THREE    WITNESSES  235 

the  blood — give  a  testimony.  What  is  their  testimony  ? 
What  have  they  to  say  ?  They  all  agree  and  make  for 
one  end.  They  converge  on  Christ,  come  in  the  flesh, 
with  the  gift  of  life  to  impart  to  us.  The  whole  gospel, 
on  which  they  concentrate  in  their  witness,  stands  for 
three  aspects  of  the  one  truth.  This  truth  is  (1)  that 
Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God  come  in  the  flesh  of  man  ;  (2) 
that  the  life  of  the  ages  can  find  no  channel  in  which  it 
comes  to  our  hearts  except  through  the  death  of  this 
Son  ;  and  (3)  that  this  life  comes  to  us  only  when  we, 
owning  the  depth  of  our  sin,  receive  this  Son  of  God, 
whose  resources  are  equal  to  our  imperative  and  varied 
needs. 

This  is  the  witness  which  God  gives  concerning  his  Son. 
It  is  three-fold,  and  satisfies  the  condition  of  human  testi- 
mony. We  receive  human  testimony  out  of  the  mouth 
of  two  or  three  witnesses.  Human  witnesses  may  be  de- 
ceived, and  they  may  deceive  us.  God  can  neither  de- 
ceive nor  be  deceived,  and  he  speaks  through  these  things 
to  us.  This  witness  of  God  is,  therefore,  of  greater  au- 
thority than  that  of  man.  It  was  three-fold,  was  open 
and  visible  to  the  world,  and  the  One  whose  mission 
was  attested  is  a  living  power  in  the  world  to-day. 
This  is  God's  final  testimony.  If  we  receive  the  falli- 
ble testimony  of  man,  what  possible  excuse  can  we  give 
for  refusing  the  infallible  testimony  of  God  ? 

The  whole  witness  is,  life  given  to  us  in  the  Son  of 
God.  If  we  possess  the  Son,  we  possess  life.  And  '*  he 
that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  the  witness  in  him." 
This  may  refer  to  some  experience  of  confidence,  which 


236  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

the  Holy  Ghost  works  in  all  believers,  whereby  they 
cry  ' '  Abba  Father, ' '  and  whereby  they  ' '  call  Jesus 
Lord."  It  may  mean  this.  The  whole  tenor  of  the 
book,  however,  points  to  another  view.  The  one  who 
believes  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  the  witness  m 
him,  that  is,  in  Christ.  Christ  risen  from  the  dead  is 
himself  a  testimony  to  our  acceptance,  if  we  put  our 
trust  in  him.  The  witness  to  the  whole  truth  is  a  risen 
Christ,  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father.  While  Jesus 
is  there,  God  sanctions  every  claim  that  he  made  while 
here.  One  claim  was  that  every  one  trusting  in  him  is 
forgiven  and  has  eternal  life.  His  presence  before  the 
face  of  God  is  the  divine  witness  that  this  is  true. 

Then  follows  a  startling  sentence  that  should  cause 
us  all  to  pause  before  doubting  a  single  utterance  from 
the  mouth  of  God.  ''He  that  believeth  not  God  hath 
made  him  a  liar.''  How  this  takes  one's  breath  !  In 
the  original,  the  force  of  the  words  implies  a  refusal  to 
believe.  When  one  refuses  God's  testimony  concerning 
his  Son,  and  therefore  refuses  to  cast  himself  entirely 
upon  him,  he  is  not  only  rejecting  God  in  this  testimony, 
but  also  impeaching  his  character  for  veracity.  He  not 
only  refuses  to  believe  what  God  says,  but  this  refusal 
makes  God  false,  a  deceiver,  a  liar.  Will  God  tol- 
erate being  made  a  liar  by  a  man,  whose  heart  is  deceitful 
above  all  things  ?  What  sort  of  a  place  would  heaven 
be  to  a  man  who  in  his  heart  makes  God  a  liar  ?  *'  He 
that  hath  received  his  witness  hath  set  his  seal  to  this, 
that  God  is  true."  Let  us  hasten  to  receive  the  wit- 
ness of  God  and  thus  set  our  seal  to  his  unquestioned 


THE    THREE    WITNESSES  237 

veracity,  lest  we  become  guilty  of  the  awful  sin  of  mak- 
ing God  a  liar. 

To  all  of  this  it  is  added,  that  ''  God  hath  given  to 
us  eternal  life  and  this  life  is  in  his  Son,'^  and  we  obtain 
this  life  by  believing  in  his  name.  About  forty  times 
in  John's  Gospel,  life  is  said  to  be  obtained  by  faith  in 
Christ,  but  only  once  here  in  this  Epistle.  It  is  assumed 
that  the  persons  to  whom  John  writes,  have  already  be- 
lieved. Then  he  adds,  "  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  the 
life,  and  he  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not  the 
life.'^  If  God  has  given  us  life  in  Christ,  then  it  fol- 
lows that,  if  we  have  Christ  we  have  also  what  God 
has  put  in  him — eternal  life.  If  we  do  not  accept 
Christ,  we  do  not  have  the  life.  So  that  our  Chris- 
tianity is  perpetual  faith  in  a  person  and  not  the  ac- 
ceptance of  a  creed. 

The  Father,  the  words  and  the  works  of  Christ,  the 
Scriptures,  John  the  Baptist,  and  the  disciples,  all  bear 
their  testimony  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God.  But  God 
has  appointed  the  Spirit,  the  ivater,  and  the  blood  to  bear 
witness.  They  bear  official  witness  to  Christ,  and  point 
out  how  he  is  related  to  us  in  accomplishing  our  re- 
demption. The  Spirit,  the  water,  and  the  blood  are 
three  complete  testimonies.  What  was  accomplished  by 
Christ,  in  his  entrance  upon  his  ministry  by  water,  and 
in  his  exit  by  blood,  are  still  visible.  To  reject  these 
witnesses  is  to  make  God  a  liar  and  to  reject  his  Son. 
"  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  the  life  ;  he  that  hath 
not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not  the  life."  This  ends  the 
doctrinal  part  of  the  Epistle  of  John. 


/  John  6  :  13-21 


CHAPTER  XVII 

CLOSING    WORDS 

We  now  come  to  the  final  touches  of 
this  instructive  picture.      Every  part 
examined  has  been  full  of  the  richest  meaning. 

We  began  with  a  revelation  of  the  unseen  life  of  God, 
made  certain  to  the  senses  of  men.  There  was  no  mis- 
take about  that.  Out  of  this  revelation  came  the  search- 
ing light,  revealing  man's  inbred  sin  and  God's  grace 
for  its  cleansing.  Here  too,  we  were  taught  forgiveness 
on  earth  through  confession,  and  a  fixed  standing  in 
heaven  through  the  righteous  Advocate.  Then  we  saw 
that,  if  we  confess  fellowship  with  this  revelation,  we 
ought  to  walk  in  harmony  with  its  genius  and  in  accord- 
ance with  its  provisions.  Glancing  still  farther  on,  we 
had  the  whole  of  our  surroundings  unfolded,  and  we  were 
commanded  not  to  covet  the  world,  for  it  will  pass  away, 
but  to  do  the  will  of  God,  that  w^e  may  abide  to  the  re- 
motest age.  False  teachers  were  next  unveiled,  and  we 
were  shown  how  they  tend  to  lead  us  astray  ;  but  we 
were  assured  that  the  unction  of  the  Spirit  would  pre- 
serve us  from  their  deadly  errors.  At  the  next  point, 
the  climax  of  the  coming  glory  w^as  for  a  moment  set 
before  us,  and  we  learned  that  our  present  standing,  as 
children  in  the  family  of  God,  will  finally  be  recognized. 


CLOSING    WORDS  239 

when  we  are  admitted  to  his  presence  and  are  made  like 
him  in  his  nature.  As  this  vision  faded  away,  we  were 
told  that  everyone  having  this  hope  "  purifieth  him- 
self even  as  he  is  pure."  This  threw  us  back  upon 
ourselves,  and  we  were  instructed  how  to  continue  in  a 
righteous  course,  through  Christ,  who  was  manifested  to 
disentangle  us  from  the  power  of  the  devil.  Then  we 
were  exhorted  not  to  marvel  if  we  met  with  the  world's 
hatred.  God's  love  toward  us  should  lead  to  the  prac- 
tice of  righteousness  and  to  the  ministry  of  love,  in  spite 
of  this  hatred.  This  persistent  continuance  in  the  path 
of  love  gives  assurance  in  our  hearts,  boldness  toward 
God,  and  the  answer  to  prayer.  Moreover,  obedience  in 
these  things  fulfills  the  whole  command  of  God,  which  is 
to  believe  his  Son  and  to  love  one  another.  At  this 
point  we  had  another  secret  committed  to  our  keeping 
— we  abide  in  God,  and  we  know  the  fact  by  the  Spirit 
given  to  us.  But  there  are  other  spirits  of  a  different 
nature,  and  they  are  to  be  tested  by  their  confession  or 
denial  of  Christ  having  come  in  the  flesh.  Then  came 
a  'picture  of  the  whole  family  dwelling  in  love,  because 
God  is  love.  Having  revealed  this  great  fact  of  God's 
nature,  then  we  saw  the  manner  of  this  love,  coming  to 
the  world,  coming  to  give  life,  coming  to  put  away  sin, 
coming  into  our  hearts,  and  there,  loving  its  own  love 
through  us,  toward  the  sons  of  men.  In  this  way  the 
love  of  God  was  made  perfect  in  its  manifestation  in  us. 
But  this  love,  taking  its  seat  in  our  hearts,  places  us 
upon  the  throne  of  his  glory,  side  by  side  with  the  Son 
of  God.     It  casts  out  all  fear,  and  we  are  thus  made  per- 


240  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

feet  in  the  same  love.  God's  love  became  perfect  in  us 
as  its  sphere  of  manifestation  and  we  are  made  perfect 
in  the  realm  of  its  ripened  results — love  perfected  in  us 
and  we  in  it.  But  again  we  were  brought  back  to  the 
children  in  the  family,  begotten  of  God,  and  spontane- 
ously loving  their  Father — to  the  children,  who  bear 
his  likeness.  Love  to  the  children  proved  love  to  the 
Father  and  love  to  the  Father  implied  love  to  the  chil- 
dren. Then  we  were  shown  how  this  family  overcame 
the  world,  obtaining  life  and  entering  upon  a  victory 
already  achieved  by  faith  in  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God. 
The  claims  of  this  Son  were  shown  to  rest  upon  three 
witnesses,  under  the  appointment  and  acknowledgment 
of  God — the  Spirit,  the  water,  and  the  blood.  These 
were  the  seals  which  the  Father  placed  upon  his  Son. 

And  now  for  the  closing  words.  The  Kevised  ver- 
sion is  correct  here  and  its  translation  removes  difficul- 
ties. John  tells  us  that  he  is  wTiting  to  those  w^ho  be- 
lieve, that  they  may  know  that  they  have  eternal  life. 
In  the  Gospel,  he  writes  that  they  may  believe,  and  that 
they  may  have  life  in  the  believing.  Here,  he  begins 
where  he  had  previously  ended.  This  life  of  the  ages, 
or  eternal  life,  revealed  and  obtained  in  Christ,  the  be- 
liever has  in  present  possession.  He  may  not  be  fully 
conscious  of  its  existence,  but  he  has  it  none  the  less. 
The  fruit  may  be  delayed,  or,  in  his  blindness,  he  may 
not  be  able  to  recognize  its  character.  The  life  may  be 
still  in  a  germinal  condition,  or  its  possessor  may  not 
have  been  instructed  as  to  the  signs  of  its  existence,  and 
these  things  John  seeks  to  meet. 


CLOSING    WORDS  241 

Spiritual  life  is  fellowship  with  God.  It  includes 
fellowship  with  man,  and  we  come  to  its  possession  in 
the  reception  of  Christ.  Life,  as  a  fountain,  is  in  the 
Father  ;  it  flows  to  us  in  the  Son,  and  we  know  it  is 
ours  upon  the  authority  of  the  word  of  God. 

This  knowledge  gives  us  * '  boldness  toward  God. ' '  It 
is  the  very  phrase  used  to  express  the  nearness  and  inti- 
macy of  Jesus  as  ''  the  Word  with  God  "  in  the  begin- 
ning. With  God,^  or  toward  God  (-/>o?  rov  Oeov,  j^ros 
ton  theon).  Man  in  the  beginning  went  out  from  the 
presence  of  God,  but  Jesus  was  toward  God  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world.  And  now  we  are  brought 
back  to  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  where  Jesus  was  from 
the  beginning.  Jesus  went  out  and  came  back,  and,  in 
the  coming,  brought  the  "  many  sons  "  with  him. 

Wonderful  grace — to  reach  so  far  and  to  bring  so 
near,  to  stoop  so  low  and  to  raise  so  high.  It  follows, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  that  what  we  ask,  according  to 
his  will,  is  heard  and  our  petitions  are  answered.  With 
such  nearness  to  God  we  make  his  will  our  will,  and 
then  he  who  works  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his 
own  will,  must  work  in  the  line  of  our  prayers.  If  we 
know  God's  will  perfectly,  and  acquiesce  in  it  cheer- 
fully, it  will  be  impossible  to  ask  what  he  is  unwilling 
to  grant.  All  our  asking  will  be  in  the  line  of  his 
generous  giving  and  mighty  working. 

But  here  again,  as  soon  as  we  are  brought  face  to 
face  with  God,  we  are  also  brought  immediately  into 

1  Hpo?  denotes  proximity,  it  indicates  an  active  relation,  a  felt  and 
personal  communion.    The  Word  was  in  relation  with  God.—Godet. 


242  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

contact  with  the  brother.  Our  holiest  hours  of  prayer 
and  worship  should  be  marked  by  benevolence  toward 
our  brethren.  "  If  any  one  see  his  brother  sinning  a  sin 
that  is  not  toward  death  (7:pu<^  Odvarov — pros  thanaton), 
he  shall  ask  of  God.''  The  brother,  or  the  one  who 
has  the  standing  of  a  brother,  may  take  a  course  which 
looks  toward  death.  In  that  case,  we  may  ask,  and 
God  will  give  him  life.  This  is  in  the  case  of  the  one 
not  sinning  a  sin  unto  death  ;  for  there  is  a  sin  unto 
death,  and  John  does  not  encourage  us  to  pray  for  the 
one  engaged  in  that  kind  of  sin.  However,  he  does 
not  forbid  it,  but  he  assumes  that  if  a  man  persists  in 
taking  a  course  that  leads  to  death,  why,  death  it  will 
be. 

Then  he  puts  in  a  little  definition,  that  every  de- 
parture from  that  which  is  straight,  upright,  or  exactly 
right,  is  sin,  or  literally,  is  missing  the  mark.  It  is 
coming  short  of  the  end,  failing  to  attain  unto  the  will 
and  purpose  of  God.  This  departure  may  be  internal 
as  well  as  external — in  thought  and  desire  as  well  as  in 
speech  and  act.  It  is  sin  in  the  eye  of  God,  even  before 
it  is  expressed  in  the  acts  and  words  of  man.  But 
while  this  is  true,  every  sin  is  not  unto  death. 

The  ' '  sin  unto  death  ' '  has  been  the  cause  of  no  little 
curious  speculation.  Much  may  be  said  in  favor  of 
two  views.  One  is,  that  spiritual  death  is  here  meant. 
The  word  translated  death  is  used  twice  in  the  early 
part  of  this  Epistle,  and  it  clearly  means  spiritual  death 
in  both  places.  What  is  put  in  contrast  with  death  is 
life.     The  word  here  translated  life  is  used  in  no  less 


CLOSING    WORDS  243 

than  ten  other  places  in  this  very  Epistle,  and  in  every 
case  it  means  eternal  or  spiritual  life.  There  is  another 
word,  meaning  natural  life,  which  is  used  twice  in  this 
Epistle.  It  would  seem  that  if  John  meant  natural  life 
here,  he  would  have  used  that  word.  But  he  has  not 
done  so.  The  apostle,  moreover,  has  just  been  speak- 
ing of  eternal  life  in  the  thirteenth  verse,  and  he  goes 
on  to  speak  of  it  again  in  the  twentieth  verse.  If  a  dif- 
ferent kind  of  life  were  meant,  it  would  be  natural  to 
expect  him  to  indicate  it  by  the  use  of  a  different  word, 
elsewhere  used  for  natural  life.  Moreover,  John  uses  the 
word  here  translated  life  {^mtj — zoe)  thirty -four  times  in 
his  Gospel,  and  always  to  designate  the  spiritual  or  eter- 
nal life.  He  speaks  of  natural  life  eight  times  in  his 
Gospel  and  always  uses  another  word  (4'^X'^j — psuche). 
In  the  book  of  Kevelation  an  examination  reveals  the 
same  habit  in  the  use  of  these  two  words. 

The  word  (C^^' — zoe)  which  is  found  here,  is  always 
used  for  eternal  life  in  the  Scriptures.  This  would  seem 
to  determine  what  is  meant  by  the  sin  unto  death.  A 
man  may  sin  and  yet  that  sin  may  not  involve  an  abso- 
lute apostasy  from  Christ,  and  so  would  not  involve 
spiritual  death.  But,  if  one  should  sin  in  such  a  way 
that  it  involves  apostasy  from  Christ  and  makes  repent- 
ance and  forgiveness  impossible,  it  is  unto  death.  This 
is  the  sense  in  which  Heb.  6  :  4-6  is  explained.  Of 
course,  one  who  in  the  fullest  sense  is  the  child  of  God 
cannot  sin  in  this  way.  One  who  is  apparently  a  child, 
but  who  in  reality  is  under  the  dominion  of  the  world 
and  not  of  God,  may  so  sin.      This  is  in  harmony  with 

R 


244  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE   OF    JOHN 

the  second  chapter,  where  certain  persons,  who  seemed 
to  be  of  the  truth,  were  yet  not  truly  of  it.  Their  going 
out  was  simply  a  manifestation  of  their  real  character. 
"  They  went  out  from  us,  because  they  were  not  of  us." 
It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  there  was  a  possibility  of 
being  illuminated — a  possibility  of  having  the  power  of 
eternal  life  moving  in  the  soul,  and  yet  of  being  in  im- 
minent peril.  A  man,  however,  who  is  fully  into  the 
kingdom,  born  again,  would  seem  to  be  safe  ;  neverthe- 
less, '  *  let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed  lest 
he  fall." 

Now  this  is  one  view,  and  indeed  it  seems  to  be  the 
correct  view.  But  there  is  another  that  has  much  to 
commend  it.  According  to  this  interpretation  we  must 
understand  the  word  death  to  mean  physical  and  literal 
death.  An  English  reader,  not  having  the  force  of  the 
Greek  words  before  him,  would  possibly  adopt  this  view. 
It  is  the  one  that  seems  to  lie  on  the  surface.  It  finds 
many  illustrations,  both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in 
the  New.  For  example,  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that 
the  Jews  who  perished  in  the  wilderness  were  all  lost  ; 
but  it  is  certain  that  they  died  and  never  entered  the 
promised  land.  Again,  after  the  nation  entered,  Achan 
was  cut  off  because  of  his  sin,  but  he  was  not  necessarily 
lost.  Similarly,  in  the  New  Testament,  at  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  church,  Ananias  and  Sapphira  were  cut 
off,  but  there  is  no  certainty  that  they  were  eternally 
banished  from  God.  There  were  many  people  in  those 
days  who  lied  far  worse,  and  yet  they  were  allowed  to 
live.     We  see  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  First  Corin- 


CLOSING   WORDS  245 

thians  that  many  of  the  disorderly,  drinking  persons  were 
on  beds  of  sickness,  as  a  matter  of  discipline,  and  some 
had  even  ''fallen  asleep."  The  apostle  explains  very 
distinctly,  that  they  were  judged  and  chastened  by  the 
Lord  in  this  life,  that  they  might  not  be  condemned 
with  the  world  in  the  great  day  that  is  yet  to  come. 
The  possibility  of  physical  death  is  thought  by  some  to 
be  what  John  was  teaching  here,  but  it  does  not  com- 
mend itself  to  our  judgment. 

Very  much  has  been  written  on  this  passage,  growing 
out  of  the  Romish  distinction  between  venial  and  mortal 
sins.  Perhaps  there  is  no  doctrine  that  Roman  Catho- 
lics have  used  to  serve  base  and  sinful  ends  more  than 
this.  They  have  a  catalogue  of  the  sins  that  are  deadly 
and  the  sins  that  are  venial.  It  is  enough  to  say  that 
the  Bible  furnishes  no  such  catalogue.  The  penances 
and  compoundings  of  the  Romish  Church  are  selfish 
contrivances  to  avoid  punishment  ;  to  buy  oflT  God's 
anger  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  enrich  the  coflTers  of  the 
church  on  the  other.  In  this  way  good  and  evil  in 
the  end  lose  their  distinct  qualities.  Such  a  doctrine 
leads  to  perplexity  and  trickery  and  to  the  worship  of 
money.  What  a  degrading  eflfect  it  has  upon  bishops 
and  priests  who  play  fast  and  loose  with  souls  by  their 
abominable  perversion  of  the  word  of  God,  no  one  can 
fully  know.  The  recently  published  life  of  Cardinal 
Manning,  however,  is  a  terrible  disclosure  of  some  of  its 
deadly  influences. 

Whatever  this  sin  may  be,  it  is  not  a  sin  that  can  be 
recognized  and  definitely  named,  for  any  sin  or  all  sin. 


246  THE    FIKST    EPISTLE   OF    JOHN 

if  confessed,  can  be  forgiven.  As  spiritual  death  is 
separation  from  God,  it  follows  very  naturally  that  the 
sin  mentioned  here  is  a  condition  and  a  habit,  and  not 
any  specific  act.  It  is  a  state  of  mind  and  heart,  end- 
ing in  separation  from  God. 

From  this  point  the  apostle  proceeds  to  speak  of  cer- 
tain things  we  know.  He  uses  this  term  four  times  in 
these  closing  verses.  First,  we  know  that  the  one  who 
is  begotten  of  God  sinneth  not — or  as  w^e  have  already 
seen,  does  not  habitually  or  characteristically  sin.  Then 
follows,  "  but  he  that  was  begotten  of  God  keepeth  him- 
self *  and  the  evil  one  toucheth  him  not.'' 

'*  He  that  is  begotten  of  God  "  has  his  mind  and  un- 
derstanding enlightened  by  the  ''word,"  which  was 
used  in  the  begetting  his  new  life,  and  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
who  imparted  the  life  through  ' '  the  incorruptible  seed  ' ' 
of  the  word.  Moreover,  the  new^  life  has  its  owm  in- 
stincts and  tendencies,  and  to  it  also  "  self-preservation 
is  the  first  law  of  nature. ' '  By  means  of  these  new  im- 
pulses, called  the  * '  new  heart, ' '  the  one  who  has  had 
a  second  begetting — who  has  been  born  again — is  alive 
to  his  own  spiritual  interests  and  "  keepeth  himself" — 
observeth  himself — with  a  view  to  the  preservation 
and  development  of  his  new  life  derived  from  God. 
The  thought  here  is  diflferent  from  ' '  guard  ' '  as  used  in 
the  last  verse,  where  reference  is  made  to  external  foes. 

1  This  is  practically  the  only  instance  in  which  the  author  has  ven- 
tured to  differ  from  Westcott.  Nearly  every  MS.  authority  except  Codex 
B.  gives  eavTov  (eauton)  and  not  avrov  (auton),  himself  and  not  him,  and 
seven  of  the  ancient  versions  follow  the  same  reading.  The  overwhelm- 
ing balance  of  authority  favors  himself. 


CLOSING    WORDS  247 

John  has  in  view  a  careful  observation  of  self  and  sinful 
tendencies,  "so  that  the  evil  one  toucheth  him  not," 
that  is,  does  not  mar  and  defile  him  through  these  im- 
pulses. The  child  of  God  may  fall  and  sin  grievously, 
but  he  will  not  habitually  continue  in  a  sinning  path. 
The  child  of  God  may  be  attacked  by  the  devil,  but  the 
evil  one  cannot  lay  his  hands  upon  him  except  by  the 
permission  of  the  Lord.^  As  the  unseen  glass  keeps  the 
fly  safe  from  the  attack  of  the  bird,  so  the  unseen 
Christ  protects  the  Christian  in  his  walk  and  way. 

Again,  we  know  that  we  are  of  God  and  that  the 
whole  world — the  whole  of  organized  society,  alienated 
from  and  opposed  to  God — is  in  all  of  its  parts  and  ele- 
ments under  the  dominion  of  Satan.  This  is  an  extra- 
ordinary, but  an  absolutely  true,  statement.  We  are 
born  of  God  ;  the  life  which  we  possess  is  from  God  ; 
every  mercy  and  every  gift  which  we  now  have  is  from 
God  ;  all  our  expectations  and  all  our  hopes  are  from 
him.  This  is  just  as  true  of  the  poor,  weak  child  of 
God  as  of  the  ripe  and  mellow  Christian. 

We  are  not  all  matured  alike  in  holiness  and  love, 
but  we  are  all  alike  of  God,  as  the  plant  is  of  the  seed. 
We  are  united  to  God  in  spiritual  life  and  have  become 
members  of  his  family.  In  like  manner,  all  men  in  the 
world,  out  of  Christ,  and  not  born  again,  are  not  equally 
vicious  and  dishonest,  false  and  unclean,  but  they  are  all 
alike  in  the  kingdom  of  the  evil  one.  Their  world,  their 
hopes,  their  purposes,  and  their  plans  are  in  accordance 
with  his  wishes. 

1  Luke  22:  31,  32. 


248  THE    FIEST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

Now,  there  is  a  third  thing  ive  know.  What  we 
know  in  this  case  is  only  imparted  to  us,  however,  that 
we  may  know  something  else — the  highest  and  the  most 
divine  thing  that  may  come  to  the  understanding  of  man. 
We  know  that  the  Son  of  God  has  come  and  has  given 
us  an  understanding.  A  better  rendering  would  be  in- 
sight, or  to  be  still  more  exact,  a  through  and  through 
knowledge.  We  have  power  to  penetrate  things,  to 
understand  them  as  they  really  are.  In  the  spiritual 
realm  we  have  had  given  to  us  what  the  X-ray  is  in 
the  sphere  of  matter.  We  are  able  to  trace  out  the 
complex  facts  and  mysteries  of  life  and  to  arrive  at 
right  conclusions.  This  gift  is  doubtless  through  the 
illuminating  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  guides  us 
into  all  truth.  He  has  entered  our  hearts,  giving  us 
this  penetrating  insight  that  xve  may  come  to  know,  by  a 
continuous  and  progressive  apprehension,  *'  him  that  is 
true. "  '  *  That  I  may  know  him, ' '  said  Paul,  long  after 
he  had  become  a  believer.  Thus,  outwardly  to  our 
senses,  we  have  a  person  revealed  ;  inwardly  to  our  con- 
sciousness, we  have  a  personal  revelation,  and  this  opens 
the  eyes  of  our  understanding  so  that  "  ive  know  "  the 
Person  who  is  true.  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit  are 
here,  although  neither  is  mentioned  by  name.  The  Son 
makes  the  revelation  ;  the  Spirit  whom  he  gives,  fur- 
nishes the  illumination  ;  and  the  everlasting  God,  even 
the  Father,  becomes  known  to  our  hearts.  ''This  is 
eternal  life  that  they  may  know  thee,  the  only  true 
God."  Blessed  knoivledge  this!  We  know  that  the 
one  begotten  of  God  does  not  practise  sin  ;  we  know  that 


CLOSING    WORDS  249 

we  are  of  God,  while  the  world  lies  in  the  evil  one  ;  and 
we  know  that  Jesus  has  come,  and  has  given  us  a  clear- 
ness of  perception,  that  by  this  means  we  may  know  the 
real  and  true  God.  We  are  back  to  God  and  we  know 
him,  better  than  we  know  any  man — better  than  we  can 
know  ourselves. 

There  are  two  words  translated  ' '  true ' '  and  ' '  truth, ' ' 
in  John's  Gospel.  One  word  means  true,  as  opposed  to  all 
that  is  false  ;  the  other,  which  is  used  here,  means  genu- 
ine, as  opposed  to  adulterated.  He  is  the  real  One,  as 
distinguished  from  idols  and  all  false  gods  ;  the  genuine 
One,  as  distinguished  from  the  dreams  of  man's  fancy  ; 
the  real  One,  as  opposed  to  deities  having  no  existence 
in  the  actual  world,  but  are  creatures  of  the  imagination. 
He  is  the  real  One,  fulfilling,  not  merely  his  word,  but 
every  promise  of  his  character  and  of  his  being.  He  fills 
and  satisfies  the  highest  conception  of  the  Godhead  pos- 
sible to  man  who  was  made  in  the  image  of  God.  He 
is  the  real  One,  hating  hypocrisies  and  shams  and  dis- 
pelling shadows  and  delusions.  Through  Christ,  we 
know  the  genuine  God. 

But  more  than  this,  ''  we  are  in  him  that  is  true." 
And  we  are  in  him  because  we  are  "  in  his  Son,  Jesus 
Christ."  Our  union  with  Christ  is  union  with  God. 
He  took  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  that  he  might  dwell 
in  man.  He  imparted  to  us  his  divine  life,  that  we 
might  dwell  in  God. 

*'  This  is  the  true  God  and  eternal  life.''  Does  this 
refer  to  Christ  or  to  the  Father — to  the  Revealer  or  to 
the  Revealed  One  ?    It  matters  little  which  view  is  taken 


250  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

SO  far  as  the  deity  of  Christ  is  concerned.  Only  God 
can  fully  make  God  known.  But  the  natural  interpre- 
tation suggests  that  we  refer  it  to  the  Father.  He  is 
to  us  the  true  God,  and  the  fountain  of  eternal  life,  the 
final  end  and  aim  of  all  knowing,  feeling,  and  willing. 
He  is  the  only  true  and  real  One,  without  beginning, 
without  end,  and  without  darkness — always  living, 
always  holy,  and  always  loving.  Nay,  he  is  Idfe,  he  is 
Light,  and  he  is  Love.  Through  the  Son  he  approaches 
us  and  we  approach  him,  and  thus  we  know  him  as  the 
Father  of  the  Son  and  the  Father  of  us  who  live  through 
the  Son.  This  Being,  this  One  who  is  true,  who  is  re- 
vealed through  and  in  his  Son,  and  with  whom  we  are 
united  by  his  Son,  is  the  true  God  and  Life  Eternal. 
This  is  the  climax  of  the  argument.  We  have  reached 
the  real  and  genuine  God,  and  the  Life  common  to  all 
the  Ages — the  Life  from  which  all  other  lives  have  come 
into  existence.     Beyond  this  we  cannot  go. 

Very  naturally  John  turns  from  considering  the  true 
One  to  the  empty  shadows  that  usurp  his  place  in  the 
thoughts  and  hearts  of  men,  and  gives  his  closing  pas- 
toral exhortation.  The  evil  one  asserted  his  power  on 
every  side.  He  forced  himself  before  the  children  of 
God  by  innumerable  shapes.  By  this  means,  they  were 
tempted  to  fall  away  from  the  simple,  but  sublime  knowl- 
edge and  fellowship,  upon  which  the  whole  book  had 
dwelt.  Knowledge  of  God,  through  the  revelation 
made  by  Christ,  and  the  love  of  man,  through  the  life 
which  he  has  given,  are  the  essence  of  all  that  he  has 
written. 


CLOSING    WORDS  251 

We  can  come  into  contact  with  God  through  Jesus 
Christ  and  through  him  alone.  Any  turning  away  from 
him  is  turning  to  idolatry.  * '  Little  children,  keep  your- 
selves from  idols.' ^  The  idols  are  figures  of  imaginary 
deities  as  contrasted  with  the  real  God.  Made  ivith 
hands,  they  become  part  of  a  gross  and  well-known  su- 
perstition ;  fanned  in  thought  and  imagination,  they  be- 
come objects  of  affection.  And  in  the  latter  case,  they 
are  just  as  untrue  and  degrading  as  in  the  former.  The 
Thessalonians  turned  to  the  living  and  real  God  from 
these  idols,  and  the  Corinthians  w^ere  saved  from 
"dumb  idols"  to  the  service  of  God,  who  spake  to 
them  and  through  them. 

**  Whatever  comes  like  a  cloud  between, 
The  eye  of  faith  and  things  unseen — 
This  is  our  idol,  e'en  though  it  wear, 
Religion's  aspect  and  devotion's  air." 

The  term  used  here  does  not  mean  that  w^e  shall  keep 
ourselves  from  where  idols  are,  but  so  to  place  ourselves, 
that  the  idols  cannot  come  where  we  are  ;  that  is,  where 
our  thoughts  and  affections  are.  "  Guard  yourselves 
from  idols."  All  through  the  Epistle  John  has  been 
testifying  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  manifestation  of 
God  himself.  If  we  receive  him  as  the  manifestation 
of  that  Lifa,  as  God  in  the  flesh,  and  therefore  as  God, 
and  if  we  cling  to  him,  and  have  no  other  object  of  wor- 
ship before  our  hearts,  there  wdll  be  no  possibility  of 
idols  coming  before  our  minds. 

The  word  translated  ' '  keep  ' '  is  only  used  three  times 


252  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

by  John.  In  John  12  :  25  our  Lord  says,  ''  he  that 
hateth  his  life  in  this  world  shall  keep  it  unto  life  eter- 
nal." The  corn  of  wheat,  despised  and  scattered,  re- 
turns with  much  fruit,  and  fittingly  represents  the  way 
eternal  life  is  kept  by  disregarding  the  claims  of  the 
present  life.  Again,  Jesus  says,  ''I  guarded  {kept) 
them,  and  not  one  of  them  perished,  but  the  son  of 
perdition."  Peter  uses  the  same  term  with  regard  to 
Noah  in  the  ark.  ''God  preserved  {kept)  Noah,  a 
preacher  of  righteousness,  when  he  sent  a  flood  upon  the 
world  of  the  unrighteous."  God  put  Noah  into  the 
ark,  and  he  was  guarded  and  saved  in  the  midst  of  the 
raging  heavens  and  the  overwhelming  floods.  It  is  the 
same  word  which  is  translated  variously  in  the  New 
Testament  by  kept,  guarded,  and  preserved.  Here  we 
are  exhorted  to  guard  ourselves  from  idols,  in  the  midst 
of  ten  thousand  dangers.  We  do  this  first  by  realizing 
that  we  are  in  the  true  One,  even  in  his  Son,  Jesus 
Christ.  And  secondly,  by  having  our  hearts  stayed 
upon  him,  so  that  there  is  no  room  for  any  idol  to  find 
a  lodging-place  within  us. 

The  noun  of  this  verb  translated  "keep''  is  com- 
monly translated  prison.  God  saved  Noah  by  putting 
him  into  the  prison  of  the  ark.  Now,  then,  we  are  to 
-imprison  ourselves  in  thought  and  experience  in  Christ 
and  in  the  truth  which  we  have  received  concerning 
him.  It  is  to  this,  in  part,  that  Paul  refers  when  he 
says,  "I,  Paul,  the  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ."  If  we 
are  in  the  prison  provided  for  us  in  Christ,  no  devil  nor 
idol  can  break  through  its  defense.     We  are  hid  with 


CLOSING    WORDS  253 

Christ  in  God.  We  have  a  double  protection.  We  are 
in  Christ,  and  that  would  seem  enough.  But  grace 
always  abounds.  He  is  in  God,  and  we,  being  in  him, 
are  there  too.  We  are  the  genuine  enthusiasts — the 
men  who  are  truly  enfolded  in  God.  We  thank  God 
for  the  prison  in  which  we  live,  for  the  keeper  by  whom 
we  are  guarded,  and  for  the  everlasting  palace  to  which 
we  are  going.  We  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemj^tion 
— unto  the  appropriation  of  what  has  already  been  re- 
deemed. 

Hosea  closes  his  remarkable  prophecy  by  giving  a 
picture  of  Israel  when  finally  and  fully  redeemed  from 
the  fatal  sin  of  idolatry.  At  the  last,  this  ^'  perverse 
nation  ' '  will  come  to  say,  ' '  What  have  I  to  do  with 
idols?  I  have  heard  and  observed  him.'*  To  have 
heard  and  understood  Jehovah  was  to  break  with  idols 
forever.  We  have  heard,  seen,  gazed  upon,  and  han- 
dled him  who  is  the  real  God — him  who  is  the  outshin- 
ing of  the  glory  and  the  exact  image  of  the  essential 
nature  of  God.  What  have  we  to  do  with  the  empti- 
ness of  the  idol  when  we  have  the  fullness  of  the  Father 
— God  ?  To  us  the  idol  is  nothing,  whether  molded  by 
man's  hands  or  conceived  by  men's  hearts. 

AVhat  a  wonderful  closing — so  simple  and  yet  so  pro- 
found !  How  it  fits  into  a  still  more  sublime  begin- 
ning !  How  it  meets  the  first  great  need  of  the  world 
to  have  a  knowledge  of  the  only  true  God  !  Men  always 
and  everywhere  have  believed  in  some  One  somewhere 
who  is  over  and  above  all  things  everywhere.  To  fill 
this  vague  conception  and   yet  deep   conviction,  idols 


254  THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    JOHN 

have  been  invented  and  worshiped.  But  in  this  book 
John  tells  of  the  real  God,  who  determined  all,  who 
made  all,  who  rules  over  all,  and  who  redeemed  all  in 
and  by  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  the  true  God  and 
eternal  life ;  therefore,  beloved  children,  keep  yourselves 
from  false,  unreal,  and  degrading  idols.  Oh,  the  match- 
less wisdom  and  love  of  God  !  So  sacred  and  dear  to 
his  heart  is  our  highest  good  that  he  would  not  have 
our  love,  our  loyalty,  and  our  adoration  given  to  any 
Being  lower  than  himself — the  Most  High  and  Thrice 
Holy  God  !  The  true  God  has  been  revealed.  There 
is  no  excuse  for  idols.  Having  seen  him,  there  should 
be  no  desire  for  aught  akin  to  them. 


I  have  heard  and  seen  and  handled 
Wondrous  glory,  rich  and  rare, 

In  his  majesty  and  greatness, 
And  his  grace  beyond  compare. 

I  am  in  the  Light  that  shineth, 
I  am  walking  in  its  glow  ; 

There  I  see  the  blood  that  cleanseth. 
And  the  Love  that  keeps  I  know. 

Now  I  know  I'm  dwelling  in  him 
And  I  know  he  lives  in  me  ; 

Here  I  find  my  richest  treasure, 
Till  in  glory  him  I  see. 

In  my  heart  his  love  is  burning, 

Loving  out  its  Godlike  way, 
As  he  is  "  I  now  am  reckoned — 
"Shall  be  like  him,"  in  that  day. 


CLOSING    WORDS  255 

What  have  I  to  do  with  idols, 
Dwelhng  thus  in  him  that's  true? 

How  be  occupied  with  shadows, 
With  this  Substance  full  in  view  ? 

As  the  stars  fade  in  the  morning, 
And  the  moon  is  merged  in  day, 

So  before  his  peerless  glory 
Every  idol  fades  away. 


APPENDIX  A 


THE    BLOOD    CLEANSETH 

It  has  been  observed  that  the  Gospel  of  John  is  con- 
structed upon  the  mold  of  the  tabernacle.  The  same 
is  true  of  this  Epistle.  What  is  written  up  to  the  third 
verse  of  the  second  chapter  corresponds  to  the  Most 
Holy  Place.  The  high  priest  once  a  year  entered  there, 
first  with  the  burning  incense  so  that  he  was  enveloped 
in  the  fragrant  cloud,  and  after  that  he  entered  again 
with  the  blood  of  atonement.  This  was  sprinkled  on 
the  ground  where  /?e  stood,  and  also  on  the  mercy -seat 
where  God  rested.  He  was  in  the  light  of  God's  re- 
vealed glory,  and  w^as  typically  cleansed  because  of  the 
blood  on  which  God  rested  and  on  which  he  stood. 
When  we  walk,  not  in  the  outer  court,  where  we  may 
contract  defilement,  nor  yet  in  the  inner  court,  where 
we  may  be  lights  because  we  are  like  our  Lord,  but  in 
the  Holiest  of  all,  where  we  are  in  communion  with  the 
undimmed  light  of  God's  infinite  holiness,  then  W'C  are 
cleansed  by  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  from  the  sin 
so  conspicuously  revealed  by  the  light  of  God.  As 
sure  as  the  light  leaves  not  a  stain  undiscovered,  so 
sure  is  it  that  the  blood  leaves  not  a  stain  uncleansed — 
"  cleanseth  "  from  the  whole  of  sin.     Bear  in  mind,  it 

257 


258  APPENDIX    A 

is  not  *'sins" — not  actual  transgressions — that  are 
under  consideration  here.  It  is,  according  to  Paul, 
the  * '  sin  which  dwelleth  in  me  ' '  from  which  the  blood 
"  cleanseth  "  so  completely.  God  has  found  a  resting- 
place  in  the  blood  of  his  Son,  and  on  the  ground  of  its 
redemption  we  stand  in  his  presence  completely  cleansed 
from  every  defilement.  ' '  In  the  secret  place  of  the 
Most  High  "  we  abide  '*  under  the  shadow  of  the  Al- 
mighty." 


APPENDIX  B 


THE  ADVOCATE 


The  Advocate  has  also  a  relation  to  Satan  as  "the 
accuser  of  our  brethren."  This  is  mysterious  ground, 
and  one  can  only  speak  of  these  things  with  reserve. 
But  it  looks  as  if  Satan  were  a  sort  of  prosecuting 
attorney  in  the  court  of  heaven.  When  our  Lord  said, 
"I  saw  Satan  as  lightning  fall  from  heaven,"  he 
probably  referred  to  an  event  already  past — the  orig- 
inal casting  of  Satan  from  his  glory  in  heaven  at  the 
time  of  his  first  sin.  This  happened  before  man  was 
created.  Jesus,  speaking  as  the  Eternal  One,  said  : 
"  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am,"  and  as  such,  he  saw 
the  fall  of  Satan  from  his  high  estate. 

At  that  time  Satan  was  deprived  forever  of  that  con- 
dition of  heavenly  glory  which,  as  an  unfallen  creature, 
he  had  possessed  from  the  beginning  of  his  existence. 
But  after  man  had  sinned,  and  after  sin,  both  in  man 
and  in  Satan,  had  been  permitted  to  do  its  worst,  then 
this  evil  spirit  was  still  allowed  to  enter  the  courts  of 
God's  government.  He  enters  apparently  as  the  ac- 
cuser of  the  saints.  He  professes  to  uphold  the  claims 
of  righteousness,  and  under  that  guise  he  urges  the 
action  of  justice  against  "  the  brethren."    But  we  have 

S  259 


260  APPENDIX    B 

an  Advocate  who  is  able  to  say  :  "  The  Lord  rebuke 
thee,  O  Satan.  Is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  from  the 
burning  ?  ' '  Our  standing  is  secure  in  spite  of  failure 
on  earth,  and  also  in  spite  of  accusation  in  heaven. 

Of  course  this  advocacy  will  not  cease  when  the  one 
who  *'  accuseth  the  brethren  before  God  day  and 
night  "  is  cast  down,  "  and  his  angels  with  him."  Si7i 
will  still  be  in  the  flesh,  whether  known  or  unknown 
by.  us,  and  that  w^ould  require  priestly  intercession. 
Even  the  millennial  saints,  when  Satan  is  ' '  cast  into 
the  pit, ' '  will  need  intercession  because  ' '  sin  in  the 
flesh"  still  remains  in  them.  And  during  that  mys- 
terious period,  "  when  the  devil  is  gone  down  unto  you, 
having  great  wrath,  knowing  that  he  hath  but  a  short 
time," — that  brief  period  between  casting  Satan  down 
from  heaven  and  shutting  him  into  the  pit, — the  need 
will  be  still  greater  on  the  part  of  the  children  of  God. 
It  would  seem  that  during  that  period  Satan  will  no 
longer  make  his  accusations  against  us,  but  the  ' '  wrest- 
ling "  of  saints  with  "wicked  spirits"  will  still  con- 
tinue. Having  no  access  to  the  courts  of  God  does  not 
drive  Satan  from  the  sphere  of  man.  We  now  w-restle 
on  earth  ' '  against  evil  spirits, ' '  admitted  apparently 
into  heavenly  places  for  some  mysterious  pur230se  of 
grace.  The  wrestling  will  be  intensified  when  the  devil 
and  his  angels  are  cast  out  of  this  heavenly  sphere,  for 
they  will  have  great  wrath  and  great  power  ''for  a 
little  season. ' '  Satan  may  continue  during  that  brief 
period  to  be  ' '  the  Prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  ' '  on 
earth,  although  no  longer  the  "accuser  of  the  breth- 


APPENDIX    B  261 

ren  in  heaven."  But  they  shall  overcome  them  ''be- 
cause of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  because  of  the 
word  of  their  testimony. ' '  From  the  prevalence  of  evil 
all  over  the  world,  it  may  be  that  we  have  already  en- 
tered into  the  beginning  of  that  mysterious  period  of 
trial.  It  may  be  that  we  are  only  entering  into  the 
twilight  of  that  period  of  darkness. 


APPENDIX   C 


ANTICHRIST 


As  John  is  the  only  writer  of  the  Bible  who  uses  the 
term  Antichrist,  and  as  nearly  all  he  says  of  this  per- 
sonage is  contained  in  his  Second  Epistle,  it  seems  fitting 
that  something  further  should  be  written  here. 

However  much  the  thought  of  Antichrist  has  disap- 
peared from  the  religious  teaching  of  modern  times, 
there  is  abundant  evidence  that  a  belief  in  the  coming 
of  this  man  was  a  part  of  the  common  faith  from  the 
earliest  days  of  the  church.  A  deep  conviction  seems 
to  have  obtained  that  at  the  eiid  of  this  gospel  age 
some  great  monster  of  evil  would  arise  and  pursue  a 
course  of  abandoned  wickedness  and  of  unrelenting 
persecution  against  the  church. 

In  this  the  faith  of  the  Christians  agreed  with  the 
conceptions  of  the  Jews.  The  latter  believed  that  im- 
mediately preceding  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  and  his 
subsequent  reign  of  righteousness  there  would  be  a  con- 
centration of  the  world's  opposition  under  the  leader- 
ship of  a  great  enemy  and  that  Jehovah  would  fight  for 
his  people  out  of  Zion  and  crush  all  foes  in  this  final 
conflict.  Both  Jew  and  Christian  expected  the  cul- 
mination of  godless  opposition  to  the  people  of  God  to 
262 


APPENDIX    C  263 

be  met  by  the  personal  coming  of  the  Messiah.  Under 
the  guidance  of  the  last  great  eschatological  discourse 
of  our  Lord,  as  recorded  in  Matt.  24,  the  early  church 
could  not  have  thought  otherwise,  for  the  tribulation, 
the  desecration  of  the  temple,  the  appearance  of  false 
prophets  and  false  Christs  are  all  placed  before  the  Sec- 
ond Advent. 

The  early  Fathers  always  spoke  of  this  Antichrist  as 
a  person  and  not  a  system.  There  would  be  principles 
of  error,  which  existed  in  germ  at  the  time  of  the  apos- 
tles and  which  would  mature  and  make  the  extraor- 
dinary career  of  this  man  a  possibility.  But  they 
never  wavered  in  their  conviction  that  the  Antichrist 
would  be  one  single  man.  Accordingly,  w^hen  Nero 
began  his  diabolical  crimes  and  heartless  persecutions, 
the  belief  quickly  spread  that  he  was  the  Antichrist. 
Even  after  his  death  there  was  a  general  belief  that 
Nero  was  concealed  in  the  East  and  that  he  would  re- 
turn, or  if  dead,  that  he  would  be  raised  again,  take 
his  place  at  the  head  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  wear 
out  the  lives  of  the  saints  with  greater  severity  than 
ever.  They  made  the  Hebrew  letters  of  his  name  give 
the  mysterious  number  ^^Q. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  third  century  Hippolytus 
wrote  a  treatise  on  the  Antichrist  which  reflects  the  be- 
lief of  his  day.  He  identifies  the  historic  Babylon  on 
the  Euphrates  with  the  Babylon  of  Revelation,  and 
gives  no  intimation  that  Rome  was  the  city  meant  un- 
der that  name  in  the  Apocalypse.  Of  Daniel's  image 
he  says  :  "The  golden  head  of  the  image — the  lion — 


264  APPENDIX    C 

were  the  Babylonians  ;  the  shoulders  and  arms — the 
bear — were  the  Persians  and  Medes  ;  the  belly  and 
thighs  of  brass — the  leopard — were  the  Greeks  ;  the 
legs  of  iron — the  stupendous  and  terrible  beast — were 
the  Romans,  who  now  have  power.  The  feet  of  iron 
and  clay  and  the  ten  horns  are  '  powers  to  be '  by  and  by. 
Another  little  horn  that  groweth  up  is  the  Antichrist 
that  ariseth  among  them — that  shameless  and  godless 
monarch."  This  author  also  identifies  the  Man  of  Sin 
of  Second  Thessalonians  and  the  desolation  of  Matt. 
24  with  the  Antichrist.  This  view  was  all  but  univer- 
sal until  the  Alexandrian  rationalists  arose,  and  they 
made  this  opponent  of  Christ  an  abstraction,  a  skep- 
tical tendency  or  principle  and  not  an  historic  person. 
In  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth  century,  Pope  Inno- 
cent declared  that  the  Saracens  were  Antichrist  and 
Mohammed  the  false  prophet,  and  some  students  still 
maintain  that  notion.  The  prevailing  view,  however, 
until  the  time  of  the  Reformation  was  that  there  would 
be  a  personal  Antichrist. 

The  Reformers,  with  the  shameless  and  nameless 
crimes  of  the  papacy  before  them,  very  naturally  called 
the  Roman  Church  the  Apostasy  and  the  pope  the 
Antichrist.  Indeed,  before  the  Reformation,  some 
holy  men  within  the  Roman  Church  did  not  hesitate  to 
speak  of  the  pope  as  Antichrist.  The  reasons  which 
led  the  Reformers  to  designate  the  pope  as  the  Anti- 
christ, led  many  at  the  beginning  of  this  century  to 
apply  this  name  to  Napoleon.  His  latitudinarianism, 
professing  to  be  a  Roman  in  Europe  and  a  Mohamme- 


APPENDIX    C  265 

dan  in  Egypt  ;  his  avowed  purpose  to  restore  Palestine 
to  the  Jews  ;  his  determination  to  rebuild  ancient 
Babylon  and  make  it  the  capital  of  his  empire  ;  his  at- 
tempt to  change  times  and  customs  ;  his  aim  to  revive 
the  Roman  Empire,  with  himself  as  the  divine  emperor 
at  its  head,  and  other  startling  projects,  made  many 
students  of  Scripture  point  to  him  as  the  incipient  An- 
tichrist. Indeed,  sober  and  studious  men  still  think 
that  some  of  his  "heirs"  may  yet  fill  the  role  of  this 
great  monarch.  But  whatever  view  men  have  had 
about  the  Antichrist,  there  has  been  a  singular  una- 
nimity in  believing  that  he  would  run  his  course  just 
before  the  second  advent  of  the  Lord.  In  the  whole  of 
the  Christian  literature  of  the  past,  there  does  not  seem 
to  be  a  single  intimation  of  a  hope  that  the  church 
would  be  removed  from  the  earth  before  this  monster 
would  rise.  In  the  early  part  of  this  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, three  men,  at  about  the  same  time,  began  to 
teach  that  there  would  be  a  secret  coming  for  the  saints, 
and  afterward  a  public  appearing  uith  the  saints,  and 
that  during  the  time  between  these  two  events  the  Anti- 
christ would  come  upon  the  scene.  This  is  the  prevail- 
ing view  to-day  among  English  Premillennialists,  al- 
though it  must  be  confessed  few  men  whose  scholarship 
would  be  recognized  have  ever  given  it  hospitality. 

The  rise  of  this  conception  grew  up  naturally.  They 
were  leaders  of  the  earnest  and  hungry  souls  who  had 
been  brought  into  light  by  the  Haldanes  and  others. 
They  discovered  that  the  Reformation  did  not  go  far 
enough.   It  had  taken  up  *  'justification  by  faith  alone, ' ' 


266  APPENDIX    C 

and  kindred  truths,  and  vindicated  them.  There  re- 
mained, however,  the  presence  and  indwelling  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  personal  and  imminent  coming  of  the 
Lord,  and  other  truths  still  obscured  by  Roman  rub- 
bish. This  great  /lo/^e  took  such  possession  of  these 
men  that  it  became  their  absorbing  theme.  They 
boldly  stated  that  they  were  issuing  the  midnight  cry, 
"Behold  the  bridegroom  cometh,"  and  it  was  w^his- 
pered  that  the  greatest  of  their  leaders  "  would  not 
taste  of  death ' '  until  the  Lord  should  come.  Any 
reference  to  signs  or  intervening  events  was  frowned 
upon,  and  those  daring  to  speak  of  them  were  ostra- 
cised. Such  thoughts  seemed  to  them  to  put  something 
between  the  hearts  of  the  saints  and  the  coming  of  the 
Lord.  They  had  passed  out  from  making  nothing  of 
the  second  coming  to  making  everything  of  that  doctrine. 
It  seems  hard  for  the  best  of  men  to  hold  truth,  in  its 
many  bearings  and  relations,  evenly  balanced. 

This  new  point  of  view  required  an  adjustment  of 
Scriptures  that  did  not  seem  congenial  to  it.  The  Old 
Testament  prophets  were  easily  disposed  of,  for  the 
"  church,"  as  such,  was  unknown — it  was  a  mystery 
revealed  unto  ' '  the  holy  apostles  and  prophets  in  the 
Spirit."  The  eschatological  discourse  given  to  the 
apostles  after  leaving  the  Jewish  people,  the  Holy  City, 
and  the  temple  for  the  last  time,  and  which  outlined 
the  course  of  the  Antichrist,  was  thrown  out  as  Jewish. 
Indeed,  the  whole  of  Matthew's  Gospel  was  set  aside  as 
belonging  to  Jews  and  not  to  Christians.  Second  Thes- 
salonians  had  been  written  to  a  Christian  church,  and 


APPENDIX    C  267 

that  too,  said  the  Lord  could  not  come  * '  until  the  man 
of  sin  was  revealed."  This  was  entirely  set  aside,  be- 
cause Paul  spoke  of  the  coming  for  the  saints  in  the 
first  Epistle  and  of  course  ' '  that  day  ' '  of  the  second 
must  refer  to  some  subsequent  event.  There  remained 
the  fact  that  it  is  not  unscriptural  to  look  for  interven- 
ing events  to  precede  the  Advent,  for  both  Peter  and 
Paul  had  it  revealed  to  them  that  they  would  not  live 
to  see  the  Lord  return  and  they  also  taught  others  to 
be  on  the  watch  for  coming  evils,  which  they  definitely 
named,  as  sure  to  appear  after  they  had  passed  away. 
It  was  easy  to  reply  that  eighteen  centuries  had  fulfilled 
all  these  predictions  and  nothing  was  now  left  but  the 
midnight  testimony,  then  the  secret  coming  and  rap- 
ture, the  closed  door,  and  the  wedding  feast. 

There  seems  to  be  a  tendency  of  late  to  take  up  the 
whole  question  of  the  Antichrist  from  a  broader  and 
more  scriptural  point  of  view.  Not  as  aflfected  by 
Kome,  or  by  the  Napoleonic  dynasty,  or  by  the  devas- 
tations of  Mohammedanism,  but  solely  from  the  teach- 
ings of  Scripture  must  this  question  be  considered. 
This  may  put  events  of  the  most  important  bearing  as 
yet  to  intervene  both  before  Christ  comes  to  bless  or 
the  Antichrist  arises  to  persecute.  Our  business  is  to 
mark,  learn,  believe,  and  obey  every  "thus  saith  the 
Lord." 

The  Man  of  Sin,  the  Son  of  Perdition,  the  Beast, 
and  the  Antichrist,  are  terms  variously  used  in  the  New 
Testament,  while  many  other  significant  names  are  em- 
ployed in  the  prophets.     He  will  arise  after  the  old 


268  APPENDIX    C 

Roman  Empire,  East  and  West,  is  revived  and  divided 
into  ten  distinct  kingdoms.  Four  of  these  kingdoms, 
according  to  Dan.  8,  will  correspond  exactly  to  the 
four  divisions  of  Alexander's  dominions  after  he  died. 
Once  these  ten  kingdoms  are  formed,  they  continue 
until  the  end  comes.  The  political  capital  of  that  em- 
pire will  not  be  Rome  but  Babylon,  and  the  religious 
center  of  the  man  at  its  head  will  be  Jerusalem.  Both 
the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  apostles  of 
the  New  ^ve  warnings  against  the  seductions  of  this 
great  enemy  of  the  saints.  From  this,  it  is  fair  to 
infer  that  both  Jews  and  Christians  will  be  concerned 
in  his  persecutions.  It  would  seem  that  there  must 
first  be  a  prevalence  of  antichristian  principles,  then 
their  incorporation  in  the  commercial  development  of 
the  Euphratan  Valley,  and  after  that  the  spirit  of 
lawlessness  incorporated  in  a  personal  Antichrist  will 
speedily  appear.  The  present  absolute  control  of  all 
national  policies  and  plans  throughout  the  civilized 
world  by  the  interests  of  commerce  indicate  how  certain 
it  is  that  the  Turkish  Empire  must  yield  to  the  "  open 
door ' '  treatment  and  admit  the  principles  of  Western 
civilization  into  its  Eastern  division  of  untold  possibili- 
ties. It  will  then  be  divided  into  three  more  parts  in 
the  interest  of  commerce. 

But  w^e  must  be  careful  not  to  look  too  much  at 
Rome  and  at  nations  without  any  conscience,  impelled 
by  lust  of  gold  and  greed  of  gain,  for  the  germs  of 
antichristian  lawlessness.  "In  the  latter  times  some 
shall  depart  (apostatize)  from  the  faith."     This  does 


APPENDIX    C  269 

not  mean  departure  from  Christianity  in  some  loose 
sense,  but  from  that  faith  which  unites  a  sinner  to 
Christ.  That  is,  they  will  take  other  grounds  than 
those  fixed  by  God,  on  which  he  justifies  the  sinner. 
Then  follows  a  description  in  1  Tim.  4  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  this  apostasy,  and  its  essence  is  an  attempt 
to  superadd  something  of  our  own  to  the  righteousness 
of  God  which  cometh  of  faith.  When  the  gospel  was 
first  preached  the  blood  of  Christ  was  the  only  ground 
of  blessing  to  the  believing  sinner,  and  good  works 
were  but  the  fruit  growing  out  of  this  root  of  grace. 
Even  to  press  obedience  to  the  holy  commandments  of 
God,  as  something  added  to  faith  in  order  to  justifica- 
tion, has  in  it  i\iQ  principle  of  the  final  apostasy.  This 
is  certainly  ''  apostasy  from  faith,"  and  this  feature  is 
not  confined  to  the  teachings  of  Kome  and  Rationalists. 
Nearly  the  whole  of  the  literature  and  pulpit  utter- 
ances of  modern  Protestantism  have  the  same  tendency. 
Hence  the  preaching  about  ethics  and  the  severe  con- 
trasts drawn  between  ethical  and  forensic  justification, 
much  to  the  discredit  of  the  latter.  Protestants,  with 
rare  exceptions,  are  abandoning  the  keystone  of  the 
arch  of  their  faith  in  * '  departing  from  the  faith  ' '  of 
the  Reformers,  the  martyrs,  and  the  apostles. 

Now  when  this  becomes  universal,  then  Christ  is  de- 
graded to  the  level  of  other  great  teachers,  and  all 
faiths  ruist  be  put  upon  the  same  basis.  It  will  only 
require  one  step  more  to  frown  upon  the  whole  system 
of  religious  belief,  to  put  in  its  place  the  material 
interests  and  commercial  progress  of  the  world,  and 


270  APPENDIX    C 

then  to  exalt  the  interests  of  mankind  as  the  supreme 
thing,  and  then  to  have  some  Agamemnon — some  king 
of  men — arise  with  a  revival  of  all  the  splendor  of  the 
greatest  men  of  all  ages,  and  he  will  oppose  every  object 
of  worship  and  put  himself  in  the  place  of  the  vacuum 
created  by  a  denial  of  both  the  Father  and  the  Son. 
He  will  take  possession  of  that  which  belongs  to  Christ 
as  the  object  of  worship  for  the  church,  as  the  king  of 
Israel  and  as  the  lord  of  the  world.  When  he  reaches 
that  climax  his  path  to  earthly  glory  will  mark  his 
hour  of  judgment  and  sudden  fall  into  perdition.  It 
follows  that  this  Antichrist,  or  supplanter  of  Christ — 
acting  against  Christ  because  he  seeks  to  fill  his  place — 
will  seek  to  be  accepted  as  the  Messiah  of  the  eTews, 
the  Supreme  Lord  of  the  Christians,  and  the  King  of 
the  nations.  The  Jews,  the  apostate  Christians,  and  the 
Gentile  Nations  will  all  have  their  part  in  the  exalta- 
tion of  this  Man  of  Sin  "  whom  the  Lord  Jesus  shall 
destroy  with  the  breath  of  his  mouth,  and  bring  to 
naught  by  the  manifestation  of  his  coming. ' ' 

I  am  glad  to  make  the  following  quotation  from  the 
learned  Dr.  S.  P.  Tregelles,  who  passed  away  a  few 
years  ago  : 

There  is  a  passage  which  speaks  of  one  definite  enemy  of 
Christ,  concerning  whom  the  saints  are  warned.  The 
Apostle  John  says  :  "As  ye  have  heard  that  [the']  Antichrist 
shall  come,  even  now  are  there  many  antichrists  ;  whereby 
we  know  that  it  is  the  last  time."^  Again,  in  4  :  3,  he  de- 
scribes this  ''Antichrist":  "  He  is  Antichrist  who  denieth 
the  Father  and  the  Son."  ^  Again  the  spirit  of  Antichrist  is 
1  2  :  18.  2  2:  22. 


APPENDIX    C  271 

spoken  of  as  denying  Jesus  Christ  come  [eATjAvSoTa]  in  the 
flesh  ;  and,  in  2  John  7,  Antichrist  is  said  to  be  one  who 
denies  Jesus  Clirist  coming  [epx^Mei'oj']  in  the  flesh.  If  this 
be  the  character  of  an  anticlirist,  how  much  more  must  it 
be  that  of  the  Antichrist,  the  great  opposer  of  the  Lord? 
Antichrist  may,  in  fact,  be  taken  as  a  descriptive  name  of 
this  person  ;  and  I  do  not  question  but  that  he  individually 
is  the  one  pointed  out  by  the  Spirit  of  God  through  the 
apostle. 

I  know  full  well  that  this  is  a  fearful  picture,  to  see  the 
whole  course  of  the  world  going  on  until  the  whole  is 
headed  up  in  this  person,  who  shall  set  himself  up  against 
God  ;  who  shall  rule  over  the  Jews  when  returned  to 
their  land  in  unbelief,  like  the  unclean  spirit  to  his  empty 
house  ;^  and  not  over  the  Jews  only,  but  also  over  all 
tongues,  people,  and  languages ;  and  this  dominion  not 
merely  temporal,  but  likewise,  through  the  energy  of  Sa- 
tan, that  which  claims  the  honors  due  to  God.  All  this 
is  fearful ;  and  yet,  if  we  would  estimate  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  aright,  we  must  know  what  will  be  the 
height  of  that  wickedness  which  he  will  destroy  at  his 
coming. 

Many  of  the  portions  of  the  word  have  been  explained 
away,  or  applied  to  subjects  to  which,  in  their  detailed 
statement,  they  were  by  no  means  rightly  applicable.  I 
speak  this  confidently,  because  nothing  which  has  ever 
been  has  at  all  met  these  descriptions  of  evil  and  of  blas- 
phemy. Take,  for  instance,  that  which  is  written  in  Dan. 
11 :  45,  ''He  shall  plant  the  tabernacles  of  his  palace  be- 
tween the  seas  in  the  glorious  holy  mountain,"  compared 
with  2  Thess.  2  :  ''He  shall  sit  in  the  temple  of  God.'^  Now 
to  w^hat  can  this  expression  apply  ?  "The  temple  of  God  " 
is  used  in  Scripture  of  but  three  things :  1.  The  actual 
temple  at  Jerusalem.     2.  The  bodies  of  individual  saints. 

1  Matt.  12. 


272  APPENDIX    C 

3.  The  true  spiritual  church  of  God,  the  elect.  Now  it  is 
evident  that  it  is  only  in  the  first  of  these  three  that  Anti- 
christ can  actually  sit ;  and  thus  the  place  spoken  of  to 
Daniel,  "the  glorious  holy  mountain,"  coinciding  with 
"the  temple  of  God"  in  2  Thess.,  indicates  a  certain  fact 
which  has  never  had  a  semblance  of  a  fulfillment.  There 
it  is  that  this  oppressor  will  sit ;  there  will  he  be  worshiped 
by  all  whose  names  are  not  written  in  the  book  of  life  of  the 
slain  Lamb.  This  alone  would  be  one  indication  that  these 
prophecies  cannot  be  applied  aright  to  the  pope  ;  and  re- 
member also  that  in  Eev.  13  :  8  it  is  plainly  said  that  "  ALL 
shall  worship  him"  except  the  elect.  Now  there  have 
been,  and  there  are,  many  wicked  who  have  never  acknowl- 
edged papal  authority  in  the  least,  but  the  very  terms  of 
the  prediction  show  that  none  (at  least  within  his  terri- 
torial sphere)  shall  be  excepted  from  joining  in  this  wor- 
ship save  the  elect  of  God.  All  others  will  acknowledge 
Antichrist  as  God.  These  two  facts — the  place  and  the 
extent  of  his  power — show  that  neither  the  papacy  nor 
anything  else  which  is  or  has  been  can  be  identified  with 
the  Man  of  Sin,  even  though  in  some  features  a  resem- 
blance may  be  traced. 

The  following  summary  statement  may  be  helpful  in 
a  study  of  this  subject : 

1.  The  Beast  with  ten  horns  is  distinctly  a  secular 
power  (Rev.  13  :  1-9).  Popery  has  always  been 
ecclesiastical,  and  its  power  has  always  been  confined 
to  the  Western  division  of  Rome,  while  the  Beast  in- 
cludes the  whole  of  that  world  as  the  sphere  of  his 
influence. 

2.  This  same  person  under  another  name  is  seen  as 
the  last  head  of  Gentile  authority  in  the  world,  and  he 
continues  his  reign  until  the  Lord  comes  (Dan.  7). 


APPENDIX    C  273 

3.  When  he  rises  he  is  first  received  by  the  Jews 
and  then  he  persecutes  them  until  the  Lord  delivers 
them  (Dan.  8,  9). 

4.  He  will  exalt  himself  to  be  worshiped  in  the  re- 
built temple  at  Jerusalem  (2  Thess.  2  ;  Rev.  13). 

5.  He  will  rise  out  of  that  part  of  the  Roman  w^orld 
included  in  the  four  divisions  of  Alexander's  Em- 
pire. He  will  destroy  three  of  the  ten  kings  of  the 
Roman  world,  and  then  his  rule  will  be  owned  (Dan. 
7,8,9). 

6.  His  power  will  be  derived  from  Satan  (2  Thess. 
2  ;  Rev.  13). 

7.  He  will  gather  all  the  force  of  the  world  against 
the  Lamb  and  will  then  come  to  his  doom  (2  Thess.  2  ; 
Rev.  19). 

8.  The  mystery  of  iniquity  which  now  works  secretly 
will  be  developed  out  of  the  midst  (ew?  ex  /liauu  yivr^rai). 
Then,  when  this  iniquity  begins  to  act  openly,  the 
Antichrist  will  ride  into  power  upon  the  crest  of  its 
wave  (2  Thess.  2  :  1-10). 

9.  This  Beast  will  be  helped  by  a  false  prophet,  to 
whom  Satan  will  give  power  to  work  miracles  (Rev. 
13  :  11-16). 

10.  This  Antichrist  will  have  supreme  control  of  all 
commerce  within  the  bounds  of  his  own  dominion 
(Rev.  13  :  16-18). 

11.  The  mold  of  truth  as  seen  in  all  the  creeds  of 
Christendom  is  as  follows,  and  so  far  as  the  author 
knows  there  is  not  a  single  exception  :  Apostasy,  Anti  - 
christ.  Tribulation,  Advent.     This  is  the  order  which 


274  APPENDIX    C 

they  give.  These  are  the  things  before  us  say  all  the 
creeds,  Greek,  Roman,  Anglican,  and  Protestant.  The 
Scriptures  teach  the  same  order.  *'  The  morning  com- 
eth  and  the  night  also."  **It  shall  be  so.  Come, 
Lord  Jesus." 


Date  Due 


t)  *9  18 


^., 


